HHS: Open Enrollment: What To Consider When Choosing a Health Plan, By Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.: “It’s open enrollment season, the time when millions of workers will choose the health insurance plan they’ll have next year. With premiums for health coverage offered by employers rising, it may feel more like open season on your wallet. That’s all the more reason you should understand your options. To get the best value from your health plan, you need to understand your different coverage options and how they work. Then you need to make a choice that’s based on your personal situation, such as whether you are single or married or have a chronic health condition. First, it’s important to consider what you get when you purchase health insurance. Insurance helps protect you from high health care costs that you probably could not otherwise afford. It helps you pay for health care and ensures that you have access to care when you need it. And research shows that having health insurance is closely tied to getting quality, timely care. Many employers pay for most or some of the premium costs of insurance premiums for their workers. As a result, getting health insurance from your employer is typically cheaper than buying coverage on your own. My agency, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, found that the majority of uninsured American families who are not covered by health insurance at work couldn’t afford to buy health insurance.”