1.  Hospital only  The least expensive plans tend to be hospital only plans.  They typically do not cover issues outside of a hospital or outpatient prescription benefits. 

2.  High Deductible All Inclusive  The next level of plans are high deductible plans for which most services (usually everything but preventative) are subject to the main deductible.  The Health Savings Account - HSA qualified plans are an example of this type.  The Health Savings Account offers additional tax benefits in addition to the premium savings of the high deductible insurance plan.  You can find more information on the Health Savings Account.

3.  High Deductible with Office Visits/Prescription  The next level of plans typically have a high deductible but offer some sort of immediate benefits for office visits and prescription.
 

Trends towards Catastrophic Coverage  The monthly premium for California health insurance plans has increase significantly lately.  As this trend continues,  catastrophic coverage will make more and more sense...especially the Health Savings Account option.    

Who does catastrophic coverage work for?  As rates increase more quickly each year for full benefit HMO and PPO plans, the catastrophic, high deductible insurance plans will make become even more beneficial.  It works very well for anyone in the 40's, 50's or 60's as premium increases with age.  It also tends to work well with families.  Again, the annualized premium savings vs potential out of pocket is the key comparison to make (read below).   

High Deductible plans  Since the insured person is both paying the premium and receiving the benefits, it usually makes sense to look at a low cost, high deductible PPO plan that is comprehensive.  Compare the annual savings in premium versus the Maximum out of Pocket possibility.  If your savings in premium accounts for a sizable amount the potential out of Pocket maximum, then it might be a good decision.  In a bad year (health wise), it's a wash.  In a good to average year, you stand to save the annual premium difference.  We would be happy to help with this health insurance comparison.   We would be happy to help with this California health insurance comparison. 

You can get your Catastrophic health insurance quote for either option here:

Individual - Family Health Insurance          Small Business Health Insurance
 

vided by http://www.dmhc.ca.gov/  Link here