The changing healthcare and health insurance landscape in
United States has resulted in more individuals and families purchasing health insurance coverage on their own. Rather than touch on number of reasons why this is case, I would like to provide individuals and families finding themselves in this position with ten basic ideas to assist them with getting best health insurance policy for their specific situation. Below is a combination of ten questions and suggestions that will provide tools necessary to get a medical insurance policy that will best work for you and your family. 1)What are your typical health and medical care expenses in a calendar year? Most people are surprised when they go through this exercise to learn that they would be financially better off in most years to purchase a high deductible health insurance plan and use premium savings to directly offset heath care expenses throughout year.
2)How long do you anticipate needing health insurance coverage? For example, many companies sell temporary policies that can be put in force for 1-6 months and they are relatively inexpensive. If you are in between jobs or in a waiting period for employer coverage, this may be your best option.
3)What is your budget? If your budget is tight, having a $1000, $2500 or even $5000 deductible is better than having no coverage at all. The ability of doctors and hospitals to save and prolong life in United States is in many cases extraordinary. However, their treatment is not free and going without health insurance coverage can in some cases result in you and/or your family losing an entire life’s worth of savings and assets.
4)Be careful to choose a plan that covers “big stuff”. It is nice to have a policy that covers items such as: physician office visits, routine physicals, outpatient testing, and blood work. However, it is essential to have coverage for major services such as cancer treatment, transplants, critical illness, traumatic accidents, and infectious diseases. Find out lifetime maximum amount as well as if policy contains “internal” dollar limits.
5)Always carefully read and understand pre-existing condition clause and policy exclusions so that you will not be surprised down road if a claim is denied. This is important whether you are purchasing a standard medical, temporary, or student health insurance policy.
