Why it matters
Understanding your options shouldn’t be the hardest part.
A lower premium doesn’t tell the whole story. Deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, employer contributions, premium surcharges and coverage differences can all change how two plans compare.
Get StartedWe compare. You decide.
Plan A
$84
per paycheck
Plan B
$61
per week
Plan A
$3,000
deductible
Plan B
$1,750 deductible
$6,500 OOP max
Different numbers. Different formats. One decision.
The research
Health-plan decisions require people to compare multiple financial and coverage features while making assumptions about needs they cannot always predict.
42%
Aflac’s 2025 WorkForces Report found that 42% of surveyed employees said they fully understood their health insurance policy, including deductibles, copays and network providers — down from 49% in 2024.
35%
In Selerix’s 2026 survey, more than one in three employed U.S. adults surveyed reported regretting choices made during their previous open enrollment.
Understanding the terminology is one challenge. Understanding how the pieces work together is another.
The financial side of the decision
23,894
employees studied
In this study:
24%
excess spending relative to the premiums of the plans selected
Researchers Bhargava, Loewenstein and Sydnor examined actual health-plan selections by 23,894 employees at one large U.S. employer.
They found that a majority of employees selected plans that were financially dominated by another available option. The resulting excess spending was equivalent to 24% of the premiums of the plans they selected.
Before you choose a plan, it helps to put the numbers on the same footing.
Making complex information easier to compare
Researchers writing in JAMA Health Forum describe health-insurance decisions as involving trade-offs among multiple plan features and uncertainty about future health needs.
“In order to improve the quality of health insurance decisions, we need to design decision support tools to help consumers understand their preferences for plan features, weigh trade-offs among multiple plan features, and clarify outcomes resulting from each.”
See more of the picture
CYB brings the major pieces of your available coverage together so you can review them side by side.
Compare premiums on a consistent annual basis — even when employers present them using different pay frequencies.
See the deductible that applies to the coverage level you’re comparing.
Keep your maximum in-network cost exposure visible alongside the other financial details.
Account for employer HSA, HRA or FSA contributions separately from the premium.
Include additional premium costs, such as tobacco-use or spousal-coverage surcharges, when they apply.
Compare copays, coinsurance and after-deductible cost sharing without treating different formats as though they mean the same thing.
Compare coverage for benefits that matter to you without assuming every plan covers them the same way.
Surface visit limits, authorization requirements and information that still needs to be verified.
Your benefits are worth understanding
CYB lets you compare up to four coverage options and puts the financial and coverage information side by side.
One payment · Six months of access · No subscription
We compare. You decide.