Health Insurance

We do not think about health insurance. But whenever we see our loved ones are sick then we think the first think comes in our mind is health insurance. Health insurance coverage varies from nation to nation.

Health insurance is a special type of insurance where the insurance company pays the medical expenses of the insured for the covered disease or for the accident of the insured. It also protects a family from the financial loss due to illness.

You will have plenty of options to choose health insurance but the difficulty is to select the best option. It indicates an agreement between insured and the insurance company to pay all the medical bills fully or partly. The agreement may include some surgery, visit to a specialist, some therapies. As per your requirement you will find these options to choose like Fee-for-service, Health Maintenance Organizations, or participating provider organization. Let’s discuss these plans in detail with their advantage and disadvantage.

Fee-for-service: In this kind of agreement you (insured) will have to pay the entire expenses of your treatment and then you will have to request your insurance company to reimburse the medical expenses.

Advantage: In this method you can select your doctor and the type of treatment you require. You also will have the option to select the time to visit your doctor.

Disadvantage: Some doctors need their fees in advance. But you have to request your insurer for the reimbursement which needs some time or some paper work.

Health Maintenance Organizations: HMO is a plan where you will have the treatment from your insurance company through the hospitals, doctors, associated with the company.

Advantage: You do not need to pay up front payment to the doctor or the will not ask for it. If you need to admit yourself in the hospital then you do not need to fill the papers.

Disadvantage: You cannot take the medical advice from those doctors who are not associated with the company. Some company will allow you take advice from other doctor but for this they will demand extra cost.

Participating provider organization: It is form where physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers sign a contract with the insurance company to provide service to the insured in a reduced rate.

Advantage: you will have service from a bigger group of health care providers, doctors
at a reduced rate. And you can select your doctor.

Disadvantage: You will have to pay more co-payments when you visit to doctors.

It is expected that you do not want to be buried yourself in debt. So you need to have health insurance for you and your family. You may be employee or self employed but the most important thing is that you should stay safe and fit and that is why you need to have health insurance.