5 Health Insurance Mistakes to Avoid

The Affordable Care Act brought health insurance to the forefront of the public's collective consciousness, but that doesn't mean we're necessarily any smarter about how we use our policies. Everyone who has health insurance, whether it's from a private or government marketplace, should take care to avoid these common missteps.

Not focusing on the big picture. "The most common mistake people make when buying health plans is only looking at premiums and deductibles," says Abir Sen, co-founder and CEO of Gravie, a free service that helps individuals and employers comparison shop for health insurance. (For those who are new to paying for your own health insurance, the premium is your monthly payment; the deductible is the amount you are responsible for paying before your plan takes over and pays all or most of the costs.)

While they are important, Sen says, considering only premiums and deductibles is "kind of like choosing a car based only on the monthly payment and ignoring things like gas mileage, reliability, safety, maintenance costs and so on."