As an employee, I find those charts pretty much useless, because I don't really know what kind of health care I need. Not just that I can't predict the unknown future of my health, but that I don't even know what the difference will be between an HMO and a PPO if I need something other than routine medical care.

I've been fortunate to leave me with little need to deal with medical issues, and further fortunate that I don't have to optimize for price. But it means that every year I get shown a chart and tick off an entry more or less at random. Maybe on that day I'll guess that the more expensive plan would give me a better experience if I need it; maybe I'll decide that I might as well save money.

I assume that people who have to deal with health care systems have learned which kind of system fits their needs. I've been unable to figure it out from the charts. They make the prices clear enough, but the value is largely opaque.