If you’ve met your deductible or still have dental or vision benefits left this year, book the care you’d need anyway before your plan year ends. A new plan year starts your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum over, and unused benefits can expire. Open your insurer’s app to see where you stand.
Among workers whose job-based plan has a deductible, the average for single coverage is $1,955, according to KFF’s 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey, and 38% of covered workers face one of $2,000 or more.
Once you’ve met the deductible, covered care usually costs you only a copay or a percentage of the bill. Once you reach the out-of-pocket maximum, the most you’ll pay for covered care in a plan year, the plan pays 100% of covered in-network care for the rest of that year.
In a new plan year, care that falls under the deductible is yours to pay again until you’ve met it.
If you’ve met your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, or you’re close, get the care you’d need anyway before your plan year ends. Good candidates are a follow-up visit, the rest of a physical therapy course, or a planned procedure your doctor can do sooner.
Most dental plans pay in full for two checkups a year, and the annual maximum, the most the plan pays toward dental work in a plan year, starts fresh with the next one. Book any covered cleaning you haven’t had, and schedule needed work while this year’s maximum still has money left. Do the same with your vision plan’s eye exam and the amount it pays toward glasses or contacts.
Check how your plan counts each benefit before you book. Some plans count benefits by calendar year, so anything unused on December 31 is gone, while others allow an exam every 12 months from your last one, and a visit booked too soon won’t be covered. Money left in a flexible spending account (FSA) has its own deadline, so spend your FSA balance on these visits too.
Look up when your plan year ends in your plan documents, since job-based plans don’t always follow the calendar year, then book this week so every visit falls before that date.
Subscribe and we'll send you 101 Essential Money Tips to get you started.
The 101 money moves that matter most, from the foundations to protecting what you’ve built.
Advertiser Disclosure: Many or all of the offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us, and some companies pay for sponsored content. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page, including the order in which they appear. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.
