Kyle Budd

Every fall, families who buy their own health insurance face a familiar decision. A renewal notice arrives, next year's premiums come into view, and someone has to decide whether to keep the plan or start looking again. When the household is busy with work, school, and everything else, the easiest answer is often to renew and move on. But for a generally healthy family paying most or all of its own Marketplace premium, that quick decision can be expensive. The plan that made sense last year...

Every fall, a lot of people make the same health insurance decision without really making a decision at all. A renewal notice shows up. The carrier name is familiar. The plan still exists. Maybe the premium went up a little, maybe it went up a lot, but changing coverage sounds like a headache. So the natural reaction is, “I’ll just keep what I have.” Sometimes that is absolutely the right call. But renewing because a plan still works is very different from renewing because it is still the...

When families compare health insurance plans, the monthly premium and deductible usually get most of the attention. That makes sense. Those numbers are easy to see, easy to compare, and directly affect the household budget. But there is another part of a health insurance plan that can have just as much impact on a family: the provider network. A plan can look affordable on paper and still become frustrating if your pediatrician is not in network, your preferred hospital is excluded, your...