Types Of Health Insurance Plans
Dr.Kut | Mar 15, 2011 | Comments 0
Different Types Of Health Insurance Plans:
Health insurance can be included in an individual’s list of “needs”, right along with clothing, food, water, and shelter. Entering into a contract with an insurance company that will be able to give you the health benefits you will need is a decision that should not be taken lightly. Knowing the different types of health insurance available to you will help you choose which one among these types of health insurance is best for you.
Traditional and Managed Types of Health Insurance
The two basic types of health insurance are known as “traditional” and “managed”. Traditional health insurance, also known “fee for service” health insurance, require an insured individual to pay up to a certain amount of his or her medical expenses while the remaining amount will be shouldered by the insurance company. The traditional health insurance also gives the insured individual the prerogative to choose his or her physician and hospital and can change these choices at any time. This type of health insurance includes a cap on the expenses paid for by the insured individual. Once you reach this cap, the insurance company will cover the rest of the expenses.
Managed types of health insurance enable insurance companies to better control their costs. This means that an insurance company may be able to require you to seek some sort of approval before undergoing certain medical procedures in order to make sure that these are truly necessary and not just frivolous undertakings on your part or that of your physician. Also, this type of health insurance has a list of preferred health care providers and an insured individual may be encouraged by use of monetary incentives to use one of these health care providers.
Different Managed Types of Health Insurance:
Under the managed types of health insurance are the following different sub types: Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Point of Service Plans(POS), and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). The Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) goes into a partnership of sorts with their own network of carefully selected health care providers and it is this network that an insured individual must choose from. PPOs will give a financial incentive in order to ensure this.
Point of Service Plans (POS) require you to choose your primary care physician (PCP) from an established network who, in turn, can refer you to a specialist should you need one. Usually, your PCP will choose within the same network but should he or she choose one outside the network, the POS will still pay for most of the medical coverage.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) provide prepaid health plans that will require you to pay your premium on a monthly basis. They are often quite restrictive by having you choose only from their network of physicians but the coverage they provide for preventive care and health improvement is beyond reproach.
Also Read:
Health Insurance – Terminology And Importance Overview
Travel health Insurance – Benefits And Importance
Medical Insurance Cover – Types And Benefits
Medical Insurance Policies
Group Health Insurance plans – Advantages
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Filed Under: Health insurance
