Jeff in Billings, MT describes himself as “a little bit of a risk taker.” It’s a philosophy he applies to his business ventures, as well as his health care coverage.

Self-employed since 1996, he says it’s gotten harder and harder to bear the astronomical annual price increases in recent years. Instead of paying huge premiums every month, this husband and father of two young boys decided to bet on their health.

A risk though it may be, Jeff says it’s a calculated risk. He figures out the highest deductible he can shoulder without going into financial ruin should they max it out, and chooses a plan accordingly with lower premiums. His strategy: “Keep your premiums in check, keep your deductible high, and just hope for the best for your health.”

Still, after years of carefully balancing his premiums and deductibles, switching health care plans five times, and watching his deductible ratchet up to what is now a whopping $16,000, he wonders, “What’s the end game?”

Driving through Billings on the way out of town, we spotted a mural painted on a building – so apropos we could hardly believe our eyes – that sums up what Jeff and so many others are experiencing when it comes to their health care costs these days: “Just when I think I’ve made ends meet, they move the ends.”

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