Health Insurance for Every Need: Understanding Types Available

In the United States, there are around five types of health insurance available: traditional health insurance; preferred provider or PPO organization; point-of-service or POS package; health management organization or HMO; and finally, a health savings account or HSA. With so many types of health insurance, it might be confusing to try to find out which one best suits your needs, so research each research and talk to professionals if you need clarification.

Health Insurance for Every Need: Understanding Types Available

Traditional health insurance is one of the most people think of when they think of health insurance. You pay insurance company premiums every month, and if you have an accident or need for health insurance, you have a reduced amount that you have to pay and then the insurance company takes the remaining bill. You often have cheap offices and / or co-pay recipes with traditional health insurance.

With people living longer, health insurance companies are starting to look for more ways to reduce their costs, develop different health plans such as PPO. PPO is a plan that will cover almost all your medical expenses while you live in a network of doctors or selected hospitals. This network makes a list of "preferred providers" that you can choose from. Care outside this provider network is closed but only at a reduced level, which means you pay more to see a doctor outside the network. By limiting doctors and hospitals covered by their networks, insurance companies can control, to some extent, their costs and reduce your premiums. POS packages work like PPOs, but require you to have a primary care doctor through whom you can receive references for specialists. If you need to see a neurologist or dermatologist, you should first visit your primary care doctor for an initial diagnosis in order to receive referrals to specialists for a more comprehensive diagnosis. POS packages also have a network of preferred providers, and if you choose to visit a specialist or doctor outside the network, your coverage will be limited.

HMOs incorporate more stringent PPO and POS plans. HMOs have a definite list of doctors, often much smaller than the PPO network, which you might see. You will not be covered at all if you see a doctor outside your HMO network. Furthermore, you should also get a referral from your primary care HMO doctor to see any specialist. However, this restriction means you pay extra low or no monthly premium.

HSA was recently signed into law by President Bush. You can deposit money into a special savings account that is not taxed and attracts interest that must be used for medical expenses. The ideal situation for an HSA is to combine an account with a low-cost, high deduction insurance plan. Savings accounts are designed to allow you to cover high deductibles if you find a need to cover expensive medical costs while the insurance company will take the remaining bill.

Again, it is important to carefully consider each choice before choosing a single health insurance plan. Your health is important - make sure it's protected in the best way possible.

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