When you’re shopping for health insurance, you need the right information to make a smart decision.
Here are a few basics to get you up to speed fast.
- Individual health insurance coverage is similar in structure and offerings to the insurance you get from your employer, except you buy it yourself.
- Individual health insurance gives you more control over your coverage than group health insurance. You can choose your own plan and take it with you from job to job.
- It’s for anyone who needs insurance, but can’t get it through an employer—or chooses not to. Three examples are: unemployed workers, job switchers and employees who are paying too much for a group plan. Find more examples at Your Life.
- There are two main categories of individual insurance plans: individual and family insurance, and short-term insurance. Within those categories, you may choose among several plan structures, including HMOs and PPOs.
- Common costs are premiums, deductibles, coinsurance
and copays.
- Common benefits are: doctor, hospital, prescription and preventive care coverage.
All Individual Insurance Plans Are Not Alike
Individual insurance plans vary widely in cost and coverage. You could pay nearly twice as much for one plan as for another with identical benefits. The Insurance Store can help you shop smart so you can find the plan that fits your budget.
Need more useful basics? Click on: