The high deductible plan likely comes with an HSA which is perhaps the most tax advantaged way to store funds. That may not be as valuable to you as $2000 deductible coverage but the equation isn’t as stark as that dollar amount.
Anecdotally, every time I run the numbers for my family the high deductible plan comes out ahead so I view an offer without one as less appealing. Though most employers offer both.
I've never yet seen an HSA that's actually advantageous unless you're able to tightly plan out your medical costs for the next year. They're always "decide how much goes in for 2021 in October 2020, then use it or lose it".
Sure, the tax advantage is nice, but it doesn't make up for expecting to be paying $2000 in visits over the course of a year, then (for whatever unexpected reason) paying half that—the extra $1000 just goes away, and with it the tax savings you would have made over years of effective use.
Not in your test case, but a problem with many HD plans is that they have grown their deductibles faster than IRS rules for the plan to be HSA eligible (currently $7k max single person deductible). So HSA eligible plans end up costing more than HD plans which further complicates the issue.
Of course, leave it up to the IRS to take something that should be a good thing, and put rules around it that make it hard to use.
It doesn’t have to “come with” an HSA. If you have an HDHC plan, you can use a third-party HSA. (An employer plan may come with an employer contribution, of course.)
It is the best type of retirement account when used that way and I think it’s worth at least $1K/yr today assuming you’ll be able to drain it before it turns into an IRA.
Unfortunately low fees haven’t come to the third party HSA world (yet) so the employer provided account has intrinsic value. That said even without it I’d bet my equations stay the same.
Anecdotally, every time I run the numbers for my family the high deductible plan comes out ahead so I view an offer without one as less appealing. Though most employers offer both.