Hi, my name is Brian Stevens. I am a former insurance agent and a financial consultant and I am going to answer the top 10 health insurance questions.
What kinds of health insurance plans are there? There are two basic types of comprehensive health insurance plans, indemnity plans and managed health care plans.
Indemnity plans are what you choose your own physician while managed health care plans, HMO’s, PPOs and POS’s assign you to a network of physicians in hospitals. Managed health care plans are less flexible but much cheaper than indemnity plans.
What is an HMO? With an HMO or health maintenance organization you pay a monthly premium for which you are assigned to a network of physicians, specialists and hospitals to provide you medical care. A primary care physician oversees your care and you can only see physicians within your network. Prescriptions may be fully covered or partially covered and generally require a co-payment of $5-10. This is the cheapest type of health insurance.
What is a PPO? A PPO are preferred proprietor organization is similar to an HMO but allows you to visit non-network physicians without a referral from your primary care physician. You may have to pay for the non-network physician’s fee then get partial reimbursement from your PPO provider. Co-payments are generally $5-10 and this plan costs a little more than an HMO.
What is a POS? A POS or point of service plan is a combination of HMO and a PPO. You choose a primary care physician within your network but you can also see physicians outside the network. If your primary care physician refers you to an outside physician, your POS provider picks up the cost. This is the most flexible and the most costly of the three managed health care plans.
What is a deductible? A deductible is a the amount you pay toward a claim before the insurance company pays.
What is co-insurance? Co-insurance is a percentage of your medical expenses you have to pay after you pay your deductible.
What is a co-payment? A co payment is the amount you must pay when you visit a physician.
How do I choose a health insurance plan? Ideally, you want to choose the plan that will give you the most amount of benefits for the least amount of money. If you want to continue seeing your current physician, find out what plans he or she is associated and if you have special medical needs make sure that the plan you choose will provide for those needs.
Other factors to consider when choosing a health insurance plan are what are the co-payments, deductibles and co-insurances? Does the plan cover pre existing conditions? What is the waiting period for pre existing conditions? And will the insurance company give me good service? Where can I get cheap health insurance?
Insurance premiums are very substantial from one company to another. So, you want to get quotes from several companies in order to get the best price. The quickest way to get quotes from different companies is to go to an insurance comparison web site. Once there, you fill out a short questionnaire then receive your quotes.
The best comparison sites also had an insurance expert on call that answer your questions and the only deal with A rated insurance companies so you know you will be getting a reputable company.
How do I know I am getting a reliable health insurance company? One of the best place is to check out an insurance company is the states department of insurance web site. You can also visit JDPower and associates web site at JDPower.com to get consumer ratings on insurance companies.
The best way to get the best health insurance rate is the comparison shop and the easiest way to do that is to get quotes from an insurance comparison web site. It is quick, it is easy, and it is free.
Visit lowerratequotes.com to get health insurance quotes from top rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more insurance tips in their article section and get answers to your questions plus get advice on how to lower your premium from an insurance expert by using their online chat service. Just enter lowerratequote
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