Lifestyle

5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Health Insurance Plans

It’s not too late to get health insurance for 2021. The deadline to enroll in a health insurance exchange program was extended to May 15.

That gives you enough time to evaluate health care plans and get the best one to meet your needs. The problem is that most Americans sign up for a health insurance plan and don’t understand what they sign up for. Only 9% know health insurance basics.

The rest are left to figure it out for themselves. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Just read on to learn the top things you need to look for in health insurance plans.

1. Monthly Premium

The monthly premium is the amount of money you pay each month. Too many people get hung up on this number, not realizing that the premium impacts the amount of coverage they get.

2. Deductible

The deductible is the amount of money that you pay out of pocket before the health insurance company contributes to your medical bills.

With most health insurance plans, a low monthly premium means a high deductible. You’ll end up paying more if you have a medical issue. You want to find a plan that fits your monthly budget but has a lower deductible.  

3. Services Covered

What kind of services get covered in a health insurance plan? Some cover office visits, prescription drugs, and preventative screenings. Others cover therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic care. Contact your health provider, like Slim dental in Murray Hill, to discuss services you need when it comes to making decisions on insurance coverage.

Are there prescription drugs that you take? You need to make sure your prescriptions are covered and how much you will pay each month.

Think about how you plan to use the insurance plan and see if those things have coverage covered.

4. Out of Pocket Costs

This is the most important metric to consider. There’s a price to pay for paying a low monthly premium. Not only do you have a high deductible, but you’ll pay more for office visits, too.

Plans carry a co-pay, meaning you’ll pay some costs out of pocket at the time of services. Some co-pays are as low as $10 for a visit. Others are as much as $50.

You need to think about how many office visits you plan to make, how much you’ll pay out of pocket, and include your monthly premium and deductible costs.

5. Doctors in Network

Finally, you want to narrow down your options by the doctors in the insurance plan’s network. There is a cost difference between doctor visits in-network and out-of-network. Out-of-network costs more.

Health insurance providers have some insurance information on their websites. The insurance provider has a directory of providers in-network, too.

Understanding Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance plans are incredibly complicated. You need a dictionary to understand what the different plans offer. To make it easier, just focus on the five things laid out in this article.

Know how much you’ll pay throughout the year, if your doctor is in the network, and what services have coverage. If you’re not sure, call your provider and insurance company before you sign up.

Head over to the Wellbeing section of this site for more healthy tips.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.