If you’re on a Kaiser Permanente California Group Plan that has a deductible, your deductible will reset on January 1, 2009. We’re half way through 2008 and it’s time to be considering the effect this will have on your pocket book. If you’re considering having a big surgery, you may want to have it before or after January 1^st depending on your situation.

Scenario 1: I’ve already met my deductible.

If you’ve already met your deductible, you would want to have your surgery before January 1^st to save money on your surgery.

Scenario 2: I haven’t met my deductible.

If you haven’t met your deductible yet, I recommend waiting until after January 1^st. This way you end up meeting your deductible early in 2009. Then you have the rest of the year to save on healthcare costs because your deductible has already been met.

My Dad learned this lesson the hard way. He hadn’t met his deductible yet and he scheduled a surgery for mid-December. He hit his deductible with that surgery only to have the deductible reset a couple weeks later. Then he had to reach the deductible all over again for his coverage benefits to kick in.