Most people are familiar with Medicaid and Medicare, and they know that there are many supplementary insurance plans available, but where to start in the quest for health coverage? To ease the process, and to help you choose the most appropriate and adequate health insurance coverage for families and individuals, we will take a look at a variety of options below:
Health Maintenance Organization/HMO Insurance Plans
This is a common and highly popular plan. Each health maintenance organization consists of a network of healthcare providers that treat patients who are insured with them. The healthcare providers include all the doctors and hospitals that are approved within the network. In addition, each insured person or family is assigned a primary care physician whose role is to oversee their general medical care.
When specialist care or hospitalization is required, the primary care physician will refer you to an appropriate doctor within the network, whilst also helping to arrange appointments and treatments.
The main aim of the HMO plan is health maintenance. It works on the principle of prevention being more valuable than a cure. As such, regular check-ups with your primary physician are encouraged, so that any problems or troublesome conditions that arise can be quickly addressed and treated before they become worse. A general practitioner is usually capable of treating many conditions but, if the situation requires it, he or she will refer patients to the appropriate specialists.
PPO Health Insurance Policies
The preferred provider organization/PPO health insurance policy offers a high degree of flexibility. Whereas the HMO plan forces policyholders to seek treatment only within the insurer’s own network of providers, the PPO will cover some health care expenses that are incurred outside of the PPO network. It is, however, still more costly to use “out of network” healthcare providers and/or hospitals.
Another benefit of having PPO health insurance: Policy holders do not have to go to their primary care doctors each time medical intervention is needed from a specialist. Patients can seek treatments directly from the appropriate specialists. This saves time, cuts down on office visits and could potentially speed up treatment.
Health Savings Account/HSA Insurance Plans
Although it is a viable option, the health savings account is a more unusual means of health coverage. This plan does not involve a health insurance policy. Instead, individuals deposit monthly payments into a fund that is specifically for health insurance. Money in the fund is tax-exempt, and individuals are free to use the money for all types of medical treatments and situations.
Short Term Insurance Coverage
A short-term health insurance policy is typically bought to provide cover for a set period of time. For example, many college graduates purchase temporary health insurance for the period between getting off their parents’ health insurance plans and the start of comprehensive health benefits from their new jobs. In addition, workers who engage in short term — but high-risk work — will oftentimes purchase temporary health insurance.
On average, short-term health insurance plans are typically less expensive than other plans, and they have fewer out-of-pocket costs. They are ideal for people seeking immediate health coverage. The majority of short-term policies become effective within a day or two after the insurance has been purchased.
