What are the multiple health insurance types?
You probably already have some basic experience with health insurance companies, either through work or some other form of individual health insurance plan. There are essentially two types of health insurance for consumers: Fee for Service and Managed Care. Most health insurance plans cover prescription drugs. Health insurance helps defer the cost of visits to the doctor, buying medicine, and other medical procedures. A policy can get expensive, so it's best to search and find the one best for you.
Fee For Service are plans in which patients must pay a fee every time they visit the doctor. Patients can go to the doctor they wish and a claim is either filed by their physician or the patient themselves.
Managed Care has become very popular. This involves plans such as PPO's and HMO's. These provides a network of physicians available to the members of their organization. Patients have "co-pays" which they pay when they visit a physician.
What is an individual health insurance policy?
Many people buy an individual health insurance policy when they are unemployed, going back to school, or self-employed. It serves as coverage for one person. Getting an individual health insurance policy can be costly. For example, if you have a group policy at work, but decide to leave the job, you can opt to get an individual policy. The health insurance company you are with may let you retain your health insurance services, but at a higher premium, because you are not longer part of a group. This however, may still be beneficial to you, because trying to get an individual policy may be more expensive in the long run.
You really want an individual health insurance policy to be your last resort. You can even ask your spouse's provider to see if you can get on their group plan.
How do I choose a health insurance plan?
You need to analyze the type of coverage and cost of the plan you are looking into. Choosing a health insurance plan is very important. First, you should look at how much a plan will cost. You have to find out things such as the monthly premium and deductibles. Find out how much the co-pay for prescription drugs is and what happens if you go to an "out-of-network" physician.
You also need to know if the plan you are looking into covers what you need. You want to find out if the physicians you already use are members of your network. If not, will it be difficult to go to the physician you have always been attending or will a similar physician be available in your new network. You also want to find out if you plan with cover a pre-existing medical condition. Find out how to go about exactly filling out the paper work fort that.
