Everything You Wanted to Know About Health Insurance
For example, do you fully understand what managed care is and how it works?
Let’s start with the fact that there are three major kinds of managed care?
1. There’s PPO (Preferred Provider Organization)
2. There’s HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)
3. And there’s POS (Point of Service)
Now let’s take a closer look at each one so you’ll have a better idea which type of managed care is right for you.
Under a PPO you are provided with a list of plan-approved care providers – however, you are not forced to use any of these providers. If you do use a plan-approved care provider then your co-pays will be significantly lower than if you choose to use a provider who is not part of the plan.
If you choose an HMO you will have fewer choices of doctors. Whereas a PPO will provide payment to a non-plan-approved doctor, an HMO doesn’t. Under an HMO no payment is made to a provider outside of the service plan except under very special – and rare – circumstances. If you require a specialist, your primary care provider must refer you.
A POS program does allow you to go to doctors outside of the plan, but a POS policy generally only pay for 50 to 80% of your bill, plus you will be required to pay a larger-than-normal co-pay as well as a deductible. This is designed to encourage you to use plan-approved doctors and hospitals.
Under most managed care programs, your primary doctor acts as sort of a gatekeeper. He or she decides which specialists you need to see depending on your current symptoms and must make a referral before you can make an appointment.
Each of these three types of managed care may have exclusions or limitations and each requires you to pay a monthly premium plus, in most cases, co-pays and deductibles. By picking and choosing your exclusions (such as dental or eye care) and by increasing or decreasing your deductible, you can tailor your monthly premium to suit your pocketbook.
A good way to manage your health care costs is to get online and compare as many health insurance quotes as you can. Fortunately there are many sites, such as Insurance Quotes 4 Free, which will provide you with a health insurance quote absolutely free.
Keep in mind that premiums can be affected by such things as past medical conditions, presumed health risks based on family traits (such as certain types of cancer) as well as your age. Premiums can – and generally do – increase with age, another reason to get as many free health insurance quotes as you can so you can choose the plan that’s both right for you as well as affordable.
Managed care programs are not your only choice if you’re in the market for health insurance. Today you can also choose to create and fund a Health Savings Account, known as an HSA. Under an HSA you put tax-free funds into a special savings account. Out of this account you pay for a super high deductible health insurance policy that protects you from the economic effects of a catastrophic accident or illness – and you pay for your normal health care, such as doctor’s visits, hospitalizations and prescriptions from your tax-free account.
If your health is generally good and you seldom see a doctor, then an HSA plan may be perfect for you. Depending on your tax bracket, paying for health services with tax-free money is equivalent to a savings of anywhere from around 15% up to about 30%.
Another advantage of a tax-free HSA account is that any money left in the account at the end of a plan year rolls over, tax-free, into the next year. That means that over time – assuming you remain in relatively good health – your HSA account will grow and grow 100% tax-free. Eventually, when you reach the age at which Medicare kicks in, you could have quite a nest egg waiting for you!
Knowledge is everything and the more you know about your health care options the better able to you are to choose the health plan that’s right for you today – and tomorrow. And the best way to ensure that you are getting the most out of every health care dollar is to compare free health insurance quotes online at Insurance Quotes 4 Free!
Unless you spend countless hours immersed in health insurance, chances are there’s a lot about this field that you simply don’t understand. And unfortunately your lack of knowledge can hurt you, especially when it comes to buying health insurance, or even getting a free health insurance quote online at Insurance Quotes 4 Free!