Top Health Insurance Guide

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If you have lost your job and need to find practically priced health indemnity coverage for yourself and your family, there are many options available. The initially step is to learn what the uncommon plans have to offer and how they differ.

What COBRA has to Offer

If you have just lost your job, the initially thing you will need to do is to check into COBRA. COBRA allows you to continue on your employer’s health indemnity plot for up to 18 months after loosing your job. If you have a pre-existing condition, COBRA can be a excellent option, but it can be expensive because your employer will no longer be paying a part of the cost. You will have to pay the full amount yourself.

If COBRA does not look like a excellent option for your family, there are a number of other types of indemnity plans available. You will need to do some research and become habitual with some of the terms and what they mean before you can make a wise choice about which plot to choose.

Types of Indemnity

There are basically 2 types of health indemnity. One is fee-for-service which, is the habitual type of health indemnity in which you can choose any doctor or hospital you wish. The amount of choices you get with a fee-for-service plot is a plus, but the cost of this type of indemnity can be practically high. Alternatives to a fee-for-service plans are managed-care plans and Health Savings Accounts.

Managed care plans include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) and Point-of-Service Plans (POS).

Under a Health Maintenance Organization or HMO, you choose a primary doctor who participates in the plot’s network and then all of your care is directed by that physician. If any test or visits to a specialist are required, that primary care physician must issue a referral and the specialist must be a part of that HMO’s network. HMO’s have the buying power of a large organization so you can often get your medical services for less and they are also focused on keeping costs down. Therefore, an HMO can be a less expensive option for health indemnity. But, if you see a physician out-of-network or have any procedures done without former praise, it can be expensive.

With a Preferred Provider Organization or PPO plot, there is also a list of participating doctors and hospitals, but you have the freedom to see any doctor who is part of the plot’s network. You do not have to designate a primary care physician. If you wish to be able to see health care providers outside the plot’s network, you will have to pay a higher coinsurance rate.

A Point-of-Service Plot or a POS has some similarities to an HMO and a habitual health indemnity plot. With a POS, if you choose your primary doctor from within the plot’s network of physicians, then your costs will stay low. But, if you choose to go outside of the network, your costs will be much higher. The advantage of a POS health indemnity plot is that you get the cost savings of an HMO but you still have the freedom to see physicians outside the network as well.

A Health Savings Account

Another option for saving on your health indemnity coverage is to open a Health Savings Account or an HSA. An HSA is a savings account for people who have a high deductible health indemnity plot. Money is deposited into a special HSA account everywhere it earns interest that is tax-free and the money is not taxed when it is used for qualified medical expenses. HSAs will also have a network of health care providers and your cost will be lower if you choose to stay within the network. As with the POS, you do have the option to go outside the network but at a higher cost to you.

If you have lost your job and find yourself in need of practically priced health indemnity, the initially step is to look into COBRA to see if it is the best option. If it is not, then the next step is to research the managed care options as well as a health care savings account. After you learn about the uncommon plans and how they work, you will be able to make the best choice for meeting your family’s health indemnity needs.

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