> You get access to it when you need it IF you have paid for insurance. Otherwise, maybe you're on a bronze plan and whatever specialist you need to see costs $10K out of pocket, on top of the $30K in coverage you already have to pay just for base insurance.
When I was shopping, I didn't see any difference in coverage by changing the metal. I went with the Bronze, because it had the least total for monthly costs + out of pocket max, which in theory means if I don't use much, I pay less, and if I cap out, I pay less. The other metals make more sense, IMHO, if you have a lot of contact with the medical system, but not enough to hit the out of pocket max. Of course, employer based plans can be a lot better than marketplace plans, most/many marketplace plans don't over coverage out of your home area/state, where a lot of employer based plans have nationwide coverage. It's a mess.
When I was shopping, I didn't see any difference in coverage by changing the metal. I went with the Bronze, because it had the least total for monthly costs + out of pocket max, which in theory means if I don't use much, I pay less, and if I cap out, I pay less. The other metals make more sense, IMHO, if you have a lot of contact with the medical system, but not enough to hit the out of pocket max. Of course, employer based plans can be a lot better than marketplace plans, most/many marketplace plans don't over coverage out of your home area/state, where a lot of employer based plans have nationwide coverage. It's a mess.