With a wide variety of health insurance options and pricing available around the world,choosing the right health insurance plan for you and your family expects you to understand the different types of insurance - their costs, coverage and their rules.So Let us have a brief idea about the four basic types of health insurance existing in the market :-
1. Fee for service / Indemnity Insurance:
Under this type of Insurance plan, You get complete freedom to choose any doctors, physicians or hospitals you wish to visit.However, the plan is the most expensive one if compared with the rest of the plans.We'll take a closer look at Fee for service in my next blog post.Now, let's switch to the Preferred Provider Organizations plan.
2. Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)
PPO's are the fastest growing kind of health care plan.In this plan, You choose one of the physicians or doctors from the list fixed by the insurance provider or can also use doctors who are not part of the plan and still receive some coverage, but you pay a greater percent of the costs With a PPO, you can refer yourself to a specialist without getting approval and, as long as it's an in-network provider, enjoy the same co-pay.PPO is more affordable than the above mentioned plan.I'll talk more about PPO, HMO and POS in my upcoming blogs.
3. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO).
This is the least expensive but least flexible type of health care plan.The HMO contracts with doctors, hospitals, and other care providers to build a network that provides managed care for members. The patient is allowed to choose his Primary Care Physician (PCP), who is the care provider that determines whether or not a patient needs a referral to a specialist or other extraordinary services.So Be aware that if you visit a doctor outside of the HMO network, you will probably be responsible for the entire cost of medical service.But Coverage for doctors in the HMO network are generally at no cost out of pocket.HMOs also focus more on preventive health care and health improvement programs rather than treatment.
4. Point of service (POS)
POS is a combination of PPO and HMO.Under this plan you can choose a primary care physician within the provider's network or can go out of the network and still get some kind of coverage.Your PCP becomes your point of service who is required to choose a specialist for you when you need special treatment.But If you choose to go outside the network for health care, POS coverage functions more like a PPO, and this gives you the flexibility to get care wherever you want — and still be covered.
Well, after reviewing all the health insurance schemes above, now you can make an educated decision in picking the one that best fits you and your family.Finding a satisfactory health care coverage might seem a bit confusing, but learning the basics and knowing where to begin can make the procedure less painful and even save you MONEY!!!
1. Fee for service / Indemnity Insurance:
Under this type of Insurance plan, You get complete freedom to choose any doctors, physicians or hospitals you wish to visit.However, the plan is the most expensive one if compared with the rest of the plans.We'll take a closer look at Fee for service in my next blog post.Now, let's switch to the Preferred Provider Organizations plan.
2. Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)
PPO's are the fastest growing kind of health care plan.In this plan, You choose one of the physicians or doctors from the list fixed by the insurance provider or can also use doctors who are not part of the plan and still receive some coverage, but you pay a greater percent of the costs With a PPO, you can refer yourself to a specialist without getting approval and, as long as it's an in-network provider, enjoy the same co-pay.PPO is more affordable than the above mentioned plan.I'll talk more about PPO, HMO and POS in my upcoming blogs.
3. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO).
This is the least expensive but least flexible type of health care plan.The HMO contracts with doctors, hospitals, and other care providers to build a network that provides managed care for members. The patient is allowed to choose his Primary Care Physician (PCP), who is the care provider that determines whether or not a patient needs a referral to a specialist or other extraordinary services.So Be aware that if you visit a doctor outside of the HMO network, you will probably be responsible for the entire cost of medical service.But Coverage for doctors in the HMO network are generally at no cost out of pocket.HMOs also focus more on preventive health care and health improvement programs rather than treatment.
4. Point of service (POS)
POS is a combination of PPO and HMO.Under this plan you can choose a primary care physician within the provider's network or can go out of the network and still get some kind of coverage.Your PCP becomes your point of service who is required to choose a specialist for you when you need special treatment.But If you choose to go outside the network for health care, POS coverage functions more like a PPO, and this gives you the flexibility to get care wherever you want — and still be covered.
Well, after reviewing all the health insurance schemes above, now you can make an educated decision in picking the one that best fits you and your family.Finding a satisfactory health care coverage might seem a bit confusing, but learning the basics and knowing where to begin can make the procedure less painful and even save you MONEY!!!
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