All you need to know about health insurance
We can’t help but to admit that in the world of today we can’t do without a health insurance. But some of them cost more than one can afford.
What types of health insurance are available?
Health insurance plans usually count one or two categories: indemnity plans and managed care plans can be of a few types: health maintenance organizations; preferred provider organizations, and point of service plans.
a) An indemnity plan can offer you the choice of your own doctors and grants you a possibility to pay for your own medical expenses.
b) Managed cars plans are usually providing broader coverage, but it involves the deal between the actual insurer and a specified network of health-care providers such as doctors, hospital and other medically related items.
What should be covered?
It is no news that a good health insurance policy should contain a few types of coverage.
If you end up in hospital the insurance should pay your room, board, and incidental services costs if you are hospitalized.
Surgical expense insurance covers all the fees related or associated with the surgery.
Physicians’ expense insurance covers the patient’s visits to the hospital or the doctor’s visits to the patient.
The main medical insurance offers quite a broad coverage with a very high benefit that’s designed to protect the patient against losses from catastrophic illness or injury.
What might be covered?
While comparing the health insurance plans, one should wonder if they provide some extra benefits that might be needed:
- Prescription drugs
- Preventive care
- Mental health benefits
- Maternity care
- Vision care
- What will it cost?
There may appear other costs in addition to the monthly premium expense. You should check the health insurance plan and take into consideration all your requirements:
Co-payment: The sum of money you’ll have to pay every time you visit a health insurance provider.
Deductible: The sum of money you’ll have to put towards your medical expenses before the insurance company begins to pay claims.
Coinsurance: The percentage of your medical costs you’ll have to pay after you reach any deductibles that apply further.
Where can I get health insurance?
It is not excluded that some get their cheap health insurance though a group plan at work, school and so on. You can also buy an individual plan of your own.
A good possibility to compare rates, plan and options for your individual needs is to surf the net and shop online.
How do I decide which plan is best?
The best health insurance plan is the plan that lets you be totally flexible and benefits your payment. Here is a list of things you need to consider:
- What co-pays, deductibles, and coinsurance requirements apply?
- Do you have a way to choose your own health-care providers?
- Does the plan cover the health services that are needed?
- Does the plan cover the health-care providers you are currently using?
- Does the plan offering the individual coverage as well as family coverage?
- Does the plan cover pre-existing conditions? And if it does – how long for?
Is the insurance company respected in the industry and does it have a positive rating from a major ratings organization?
What’s most important when comparing health insurance plans?
The most important aspect with health insurance is finding the right balance of cost and coverage. So before you start considering different offers, you have to determine your exact health insurance needs. Only when you know the amount and types of coverage you need, you will be able compare the offers.
The best health insurance plan in your case entirely depends on your particular health situation. Whether you are young, strong and healthy, or have a high risk of developing cancer, or plan to retire in the near future — in each case the amount of coverage will vary significantly, and you’ll have to adjust your health insurance plan exactly to your needs.
When you have your health insurance priorities set, it’s time to compare prices. A cheap health insurance plan doesn’t mean necessarily the one with the lowest price, although it may sound obvious to many. A real budget health insurance policy is the one providing the most coverage for the least price. And cutting yourself off coverage you really need may turn more expensive to you in the future compared to the additional premium you would pay. So choose your plan carefully. Internet is the best place to find information on any insurance company — use it!
Health Insurance Guide
Many people are searching for other possibilities and opt to take out a private health insurance policy, which is due to cover the cost of private medical treatment in the case of short-term or any other curable conditions.
How much will health insurance cost?
The cost of the plan dictated by the health insurance company can vary. It is totally up to the customer to choose the one he wants according to his preferences, whether the policy is for individual or for a full family.
Should I send my medical history to my insurer?
There are policies that may require getting to know your medical history before providing you with a quote. You could be required to share the details of your GP, who the insurer could contact for any additional information.
How does making a claim on health insurance work?
First of all, it is necessary to find out what is cause you problems, and decide upon the private consultation if you need one. It is important to obtain a quote in advance, before any treatment starts.
When is health insurance necessary?
While you are considering if it is worth it or not taking out health insurance, it should be remembered that every single case of health insurance will get more expensive with years.
What type of health insurance is best?
If you are about to choose you health insurance policy, it is important to be careful while considering your options. There are ways to reduce your premium if needed.
What different types of health insurance exist in the UK, what do they include and who do they suit best?
There are various health insurance plans in the UK. All of them are presented below.
Private Medical Insurance
Private medical insurance will provide you with funds for your consultations with the doctor, your tests and your operations. You will get a chance to choose where you would like to stay and when.
Critical Illness
Critical Illness insurance covers patients who are suddenly diagnosed with some serious maladies. They invest a sum of money that can later be used according to their wishes whenever they want.
Income Protection
Income protection insurance is made for self-employed people. This type of insurance mostly depends on the type of work you do and how fast you want the benefits to pay.
The Health Trust Fund
This is an innovation designed to replace the traditional health insurance strategy. This type of plan takes advantage of trust fund laws in the UK that allow cheap health insurance coverage and so on.
Cash Plans
Cash Plans are Low-cost health insurance plans that are willing to supply cash for the policyholder’s medical payments.
Ex-pat insurance
Ex-pat insurance is serving anyone who is working or living abroad for an extended period of time. The plan Ex-pat insurance provides is to be paid for in advance.
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance is also available for those going on vacations and trips for extended period of time.
Pre-Existing Conditions and exclusions
Exclusions mean the condition under which insurers will refuse to provide any cover, for example, they could refer to chronics or plastic surgery.
Understanding the difference between HMO, PPO, and POS
Health Support Organizations (HSOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), and Point-of-Service Plans (POS) are the examples of set health concern organizations. The main idea of creating a managed care institution is to grant its clients with access to a comprehensive way of clinical care that guarantees quality service and reasonable prices.
Health Support Organizations
If the coverage you have chosen is provided by a Health Support Organization, you have to select an HMO physician to be your first medical consultant. The doctor will coordinate your referrals to specialists, such as a dermatologist, cardiologist or surgeon as well as everything else.
Because of the conditions in a choice of HSO network services, it’s of vital importance to check the physician listing and hospital affiliations for the HSO you are taking into consideration. Averagely, HSOs are the cheapest health institutions for everybody from a boss to the secretary. Everything from a doctor’s receipt to the way he is planning to treat you is covered by the premium of every month.
Co-payment exists in cases of visits that vary based on the type of service provided as well as the service you might select. But there is no such thing as co-insurance. There is such a possibility as your own choice in plan configuration as it gives an opportunity to their clients to visit any provider they want outside of the network. Such opportunity provides the members with an access to an HSO network and a PPO network, though the PPO usually includes deductibles and co-insurance.
Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
A Preferred Provider Organization is known to be more flexible than a traditional HMO insurance plan, but it works with a list of physicians and hospitals that is said to be “within the PPO network.” Going for a PPO plan, you will have to visit an out-of-network provider and get some coverage for the services they provide. Yet, you will usually need to give money for co-insurance or the difference between the network and the non-network prices. If you suddenly decide you don’t want to commit yourself to the PPO network, you may have to invest money for the treatment and attach the receipt to your PPO insurance specialist for a shared reimbursement.
HMO vs. PPO Prescription Plans
The two plans may have a benefit towards the prescription of the medicine included, if you, as an employer, offer it. The coverage price may vary. Most plans will include a higher co-payment if the generic formula if chosen over a brand name drug (if it was recommended by the physician, of course).
Point-of-Service Plan (POS)
The POS plan is more of a mixture of the HSO and PPO plans. You are asked to designate an in-network physician that will further on be your primary health care provider. Out-of-network doctors are welcome if you choose, but once again in doing so, you are obliged to have to pay most of the cost yourself, unless a primary care physician advices that specific doctor to you.
There is a big variety for today’s small businesses and some health insurance companies are willing to provide you with more than one cheap health insurance option to your employees.
Short-Term Health Insurance
It is a well-known fact that being a college graduate or moving out of your parents house means you are no longer under the parents’ health insurance plan. Or if you are still looking forward to you next big break and you’ve flown the coop on your previous cubicle job. Or sometimes it happens that with a new job you have to have worked for a several months before your new employer’s group health insurance plan kicks in. All these reasons are perfect to start searching for a short-term health insurance in the state you live in.
What’s in a name . . .
Short-term health insurance usually covers your health problems from 30 to 180 days according to the name implication, though some of the state plans will cover you for up to 12 months. If the short-term health insurance runs longer than the coverage, it is possible to review the plan, but you should not count on anything beyond 12 months.
Short-term health insurances in their majority will cover you in the case of an accident and a sudden illness. As it may be guessed, with almost any health insurance plan, short-term plans can have benefit limits, and one will be required to cover an initial deductible and to make co-payments. You will have a possibility to choose your own hospital and doctor, or any other health-care provider. You will have an access to coverage if meet any inpatient and outpatient services, hospital room (including intensive care unit) and board charges, laboratory examinations and X rays. This coverage starts right after the insurer receives the application from the potential patient and the first premium payment. Such plans rarely require a physical examination.
Applications are welcome to be submitted vie the Internet and email, and payments can me made by check as well as the credit card. One should check with the provider for the necessary information on coverage and the application process.
. . . And what’s not
It is safe to say that the short-term insurance plans don’t offer all the benefits of permanents plans in order to keep the premiums down. Most of them won’t cover treatment of a pre-existing condition ( for example , an illness or injury that has produced signs or symptoms that you have not been treating under certain circumstances for over the past few years even after the received treatment ). In addition, it is important to mention that these plans won’t cover routine medical examinations, preventive care, dentist visits or optical care. Pregnancy and childbirth expenses are also down to your payment.
Short-term health insurance policies are extracted from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Insurance carriers issuing these policies don’t have to guarantee their revision, and most don’t do that. Together with everything else they don’t have to waive any pre-existing condition limitations for any individuals otherwise eligible for those waivers.
But short-term insurance plans really can help you fill in the missing cheap health insurance coverage gaps despite all of their limitation. And that is exactly what you have been prescribed!