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| How do I pick a health plan? |
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There are essentially two kinds of heath insurance: Fee-for-Service and Managed Care. They both cover an array of medical, surgical and hospital expenses. If your employer gives you a choice of plans or you need to purchase your own coverage, it is crucial that you understand your health insurance choices and pick the insurance that is best for you and your family. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when choosing a health insurance plan: How affordable is the cost of care? * What is the monthly premium I will have to pay? * Should I try to insure most of my medical expenses or just the large ones? * What deductibles will I have to pay out-of-pocket before insurance starts to reimburse me? * After I’ve met my deductible, what percentage of my medical expenses are reimbursed? * How much less am I reimbursed if I use doctors outside the insurance company’s network? Does the insurance plan cover the services I am likely to use? * Are the doctors, hospitals, laboratories and other medical providers that I use in the insurance company’s network? * If I want to use a doctor outside the network, will the plan permit it? * How easily can I change primary-care physicians if I want to? * Do I need to get permission before I see a medical specialist? * What are the procedures for getting care and being reimbursed in an emergency situation, both at home or out of town? * If I have a preexisting medical condition, will the plan cover it? * If I have a chronic condition such as asthma, cancer, AIDS or alcoholism, how will the plan treat it? * Are the prescription medicines that I use covered by the plan? * Does the plan reimburse alternative medical therapies such as acupuncture or chiropractic treatment? * Does the plan cover the costs of delivering a baby? What is the quality of the insurance plan I’m looking at? * How have independent government and non-government organizations rated the plan? For example, the National Committee for Quality Assurance ( http://www.ncqa.org ) issues a Consumer Assessment of Health Plans (CAHPS) report for every medical plan and facility. * What kind of accreditation has the plan received from groups such as NCQA or the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) * How many patient complaints were filed against the plan last year and how many were upheld by state regulatory agencies like the state insurance commission or the state medical licensing board? * How many members drop out of the plan each year? State insurance departments keep track of “disenrollment rates.” * Do the doctors, pharmacies and other services in the plans offer convenient times and locations? * Does the plan pay for preventive health care such as diet and exercise advice, immunizations and health screenings? * What do my friends and colleagues say about their experiences with the plan? * What does my doctor say about his or her experience with the plan? Article by: Insurance Information Institute Tags: blue cross health upmc health plan neighborhood health plan avmed health plan geisinger health plan nhp health plan cigna health plan metroplus health plan lovelace health plan kaiser health plan jmh health plan ochsner health plan careplus health plan touchpoint health plan managed care health oregon health plan humana health plan health insurance pos health plan anthem health plan affordable health plan hsa health plan group health individual health plan arizona health plan colorado health plan medicare health plan vision health plan blue cross blue shield health unicare health plan nj health plan physician health plan kerry health plan bcbs health plan illinois health plan michigan health plan georgia health plan advantage health plan prescription health plan dental health aetna health medicaid health plan pick health picking a health to pick a health health picking pick a health insurance pick a health plan how to pick a health pick a health insurance plan pick health insurance picking health insurance to pick a health plan how to pick health insurance how to pick health health picks to pick health insurance pick a health how to pick healthy to pick a health insurance pick a fitness pick out a healthy health pick up picking a healthy picking healthy picker health pick your path to health how to pick a healthy to pick health healthy pick to pick out a healthy pick up stix health pick fitness picker health care picker healthcare healthy picks at pick up stix healthy healthcare stock picks pick a healthy healthy picks nose picking health pick a healthy puppy picking your nose healthy to pick a healthy to pick a healthy puppy to pick healthy how to pick a healthy puppy health medical center doctors pick doctors picks medical pick insurance health fruits health nutrition pick picking doctors medical picks pick natural picking medical herbs health pick individual care picks picking healing healing picked care pick dental pick football health dental picks picking individual care picking |
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