During her employer's enrollment period this year, for coverage beginning July 1, Ms. Rosenthal signed up for a $1,500 deductible plan with a $323.81 premium.

Under the legislation, Medicare recipients could buy a high deductible plan, contributed to by Medicare, as long as they opened a medical savings account that the program could help fund with money left over after the insurance premium was covered.

They were ranked in order, based on what my father's total annual out-of-pocket expense for his drugs would be, including the monthly drug premium and the annual deductible for each plan.

Janeane Reis, human resources director of the agency in Hannibal, Mo., said its premiums increased by 10 percent, even with the high deductible plan.

This provision allows for direct primary care to compete with traditional health insurance options in the mandated Health insurance exchange when combined with a low cost high deductible plan.

Though it might seem counterintuitive, those who are chronically ill may also want a high deductible plan.

A cost estimator provided by United Healthcare found that an asthmatic employee with a pregnant wife and a three-year-old prone to ear infections would pay about $1,000 a year out-of-pocket in a high deductible plan compared to $3,613 for an H.M.O.

HSAs, however, must be paired with a high-deductible health care plan (HDHP) and therefore tend to be more advantageous to healthier employees who can tolerate the higher out-of-pocket costs called for in a high deductible plan.

Likewise, offering a higher deductible plan lets you save on monthly employer premiums.

By switching to an Extend Benefits plan through Sam's Club, one with a Health Savings Account and a high deductible, rather than a small group plan, the company cut its premiums by $2,200 a month.