Thanks to NGPF Fellow Jill Wilson and her students from Glenwood Springs High School (CO) for sharing a health insurance interactive. They conducted this research as part of this NGPF project: Introducing Insurance - You Be The Teacher.

In a Health Insurance Matchmaking Game, students complete a series of questions with the interactive (which is unfortunately no longer active) then recommending what health plan is best for them. For example, the first time I played I answered the questions as a young person might:

• I wanted coverage for myself
• I need the insurance plan to last indefinitely
• I visit the doctor 1-2 times/year
• I have 1-2 generic drugs that I take (interestingly, there is no 0 option) 
• I could afford less than $1,000 in out-of-pocket costs

Here's what they recommended (WARNING: CLICKING "View Plans" will take students to a site where it asks for personally identifiable information): 

I might use this as a whole class exercise and project the interactive on a screen and walk through several scenarios with student input: 

• The one I provided above
• A single person that would use more healthcare (prescriptions, doctor visits)
• A family with low usage of healthcare 
• A family with high usage of healthcare

Why I like this interactive?

• It's simple and quick
• It highlights the key questions to ask before settling on a health plan
• Given that it's an interactive provided by a healthcare company (United Healthcare) it may lead to some questions about whether it is steering consumers to specific plans
• It can be a jumping off point for a deeper discussion about the pros/cons of the various types of health insurance plans and when you might favor one over another
  • Plans with low deductibles and high premiums 
  • Plans with high deductibles and low premiums

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Want to go deeper on this health insurance question? Pair this interactive with this NGPF Activity, COMPARE: Select a Health Insurance Plan

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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