Health Insurance: The basics you need to know
It’s no secret that as inflation rises, the price of the most important goods and services rise as well. This not only includes things such as fuel, groceries and college tuition, but also hospital expenses. Since we are fully dependent on the services of doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, x-ray technicians, etc., and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, their role in society remains as important as ever. Along with that, though, comes the importance of being able to afford their services. Health insurance, then, has become a major necessity for America’s citizens. Therefore, it’s important to have a firm foundation of knowledge about the ins and outs of health insurance—especially since it’s a service that we all pay for and use.
Types of Health Insurance
Usually, Americans have either one of two types of health insurance: managed care plans or indemnity plans (also known as reimbursement plans). There are important differences between these two types of insurance. For example, with managed care plans the policyholder must go to doctors and clinics that are specifically covered by their individual health plan. The policyholder’s HMO (health maintenance organization) has him/her assigned to a primary care physician who then works with the policyholder in choosing a health specialist within their area, instead of the policyholder choosing their own specialist. The benefit of holding a managed care plan is that these types of plans usually provide more varied coverage, satisfying more of the policyholder’s medical needs.
With indemnity plans, the policyholder is given the option of choosing their preferred physician and clinic, rather than the insurer choosing for them. Once the policyholder files on their indemnity health insurance plan, the insurance provider then pays anywhere from the whole amount accrued to a partial amount of the total.
How Much Does Health Insurance Cost?
As with all types of insurance, there are monthly premiums associated with health plans—the amounts depending upon a number of factors ranging from the number of people included on the plan, to the extent of what the plan covers. In addition to monthly premiums, there are also out of pocket expenses that can be accrued. The most normal out of pocket expense, co-payments, are charged each time the policyholder visits their physician. Generally co-payments are insubstantial compared to the actual cost of the clinic’s services, ranging anywhere between ten to fifty-dollars. Another expense that policyholders must pay is their deductible, usually an annual payment that is used to go towards funding a portion the accrued hospital expenses; this amount is usually set by the policyholder.
What Will Health Insurance Cover?
When choosing a plan, there are a number of services that should be covered in a well-rounded policy: hospital expenses including room, board and other costly services; surgical expenses; physicians’ expenses including the cost of the visit. Most major health policies cover each of these expenses, and are deemed the best kind of coverage available
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