Yes, unfortunately so. You have to play the stupid game of "expected medical expenses". For example, am I going to do something major like have a baby this yea

Yes, unfortunately so. You have to play the stupid game of "expected medical expenses". For example, am I going to do something major like have a baby this year. Then yes it probably makes more sense to get me to my deductible and pay the extra money to go with insurance. Or if you (or someone on your plan) has an ongoing medical issue where you know you will meet your deductible. Or on the flip side, I met my deductible one year and was going to physical therapy. Since I met my deductible the physical therapy visits were cheap, but going in to the next calendar year now my deductible reset. Could I have used more PT? Maybe, but the visits were about to be 5x more expensive. But "expected medical expenses" is just the dumbest thing.