Everything you need to Know about Health Insurance Health insurance is an important and often confusing purchase for you and everyone in your family. The first step in understanding that health insurance is knowing where to get coverage, figuring out the different types of plans, seeing what's covered, and defining the industry terms. Once you have that information, you'll have the information to make an informed decision about the right health plan for you. What is private health insurance? Private health insurance is a product that can help cover your healthcare costs. Depending on the type of cover you take out, a health insurance policy can help pay for your treatment as a private patient in a hospital or treatment outside of hospitals.Moreover, combined health insurance policies cover both hospital and general treatment costs. However, sometimes there may be restrictions on what you can and cannot claim. For instance, certain treatments require that you first sit through a waiting period. By making you wait several months before you can claim, the health fund can be sure that you’re not just joining up to take advantage of subsidized treatment before cancelling. This kind of behavior would increase the cost of health insurance for everyone, which is why waiting periods must be observed for many types of treatments. Where can you get coverage? In the US, all health coverage options fall into one of two general categories. You can obtain individual coverage for yourself and your family by reaching out to insurers directly, or receive group coverage as an eligible employee or student. With the arrival of the Affordable Care Act, the parameters and regulations pertaining to both types of coverage have been altered significantly. Individual Coverage: The costs and availability of individual coverage were highly variable. Thanks to the ACA, individual health insurance plans must now cover you regardless of
preexisting conditions or health problems. Under this type of coverage, policyholders are allowed to choose their own physicians. You can choose three coverage pathways: ●Providers within the ACA healthcare exchange ●Providers outside the ACA healthcare exchange ●Policies that provide short-term coverage How much does health insurance cost? Your health insurance premium – the amount you pay monthly or yearly to maintain cover – is affected by a range of factors, including: ●The excess you choose to pay in the event of a claim ●The product and insurer you chose ●Your level of cover ●How many people your insurance policy covers What coverage is provided in every health insurance plan? As part of the ACA, all health insurance plans must cover "essential health benefits." These covered benefits include: ●Outpatient care ●Emergency care ●Hospitalization ●Pregnancy and newborn care ●Mental health and substance abuse services ●Prescription drugs
●Rehabilitation services ●Preventive and wellness services ●Dental and vision care for children Ideally, your plan enables you to receive medical treatment whenever needed. Some insurers cap your annual number of primary care visits, while others are more lenient and allow you to schedule as many appointments as you think are necessary. Before enrolling in a new plan, it’s crucial to establish if there are any restrictions regarding primary care visits and, if so, exactly how many physician visits you are allowed. The right health insurance plan for you depends on many factors, including your financial situation and health status. When making the decision, you should review the past few years of your healthcare plan, as well as the healthcare provided to your family. Also, you should think ahead to the next year. Think about you and your family's health situation, healthcare use, prescription drugs, and whether you have expendable income to pay out-ofpocket costs.