This time of year people hold off seeing their trusted physicians due to the restart of a new calendar year deductible. The deductible is a set amount of money that your insurance company and your employer/you agree upon, which must be met before your insurance begins to pay for services that you have encountered.

There is some psychology to this yearly dilemma.
First, the deductible helps lower your insurance premium. The higher the deductible the lower the premium. Insurance companies love it when you choose a higher deductible plan because they don’t have to pay of until you met your set amount, meanwhile they continue to accept your monthly premium. All in and no out. Secondly, the psychology part of it is two fold. People don’t want to use their insurance because they don’t want to have to pay. Which again is a case of insurance companies reaping the premium. And meanwhile you hold off. Time ticks away and then you start see other physicians and you owe each provider your deductible little by little, and you eventually meet your deductible and the insurance company has to kick in some payment. But then you realize that you spent all this money and you only have 3 months left of the year to utilize your insurance and you cram all of your appointments within a 3 month window and your are fighting with everyone else to see the doctor or get a procedure done before the end of the year. Then next year comes around and you start all over again.

Stop the madness.
See the people that you need to see at the beginning of the year, pay out what you need to pay and reap the rewards of your insurance which you are dearly paying for. Get the appointments you want when you want them. Or choose a plan that gives you a health savings card that forces you to put money away for this problem of co-pays and deductibles.

This should be your New Years Resolution.