Competition is good, and time consuming

I was recently able to create an account and get quotes for health insurance for my family through the Illinois healthcare exchanges.  I was pleasantly surprised by what is available.  The table below summarizes my options (including what we paid this year).  When we get our employer options for next year, this will give us a good template from which to work.

I created the range from the data provided on the website as follows:

1.  The color of the bar represents the plan group: platinum, gold, silver and bronze.  My current plan is in green.

2.  The low end arrow starts at the total cost of 12 months worth of premiums plus the expected copays for my family of 6 for doctor's visits and prescriptions.

3.  The high end arrow ends at the total cost of 12 months worth of premiums plus the expected copays plus the out-of-pocket maximum for the plan.

4.  The dot sits at a point calculated from the low end cost plus 50% of the deductible.  Low-deductible plans have their dot near the low end and high-deductible plans have their dot near the high end.