Health InsuranceThere are many health care plans available to the individual consumer and it is important more than ever to select the plan that best suites you and your family's needs at the best value. If you are part of a healthcare plan at work your options may be limited by the employer who has selected a plan for the entire company. A Health Maintenance Organization or HMO sets guidelines under which physicians can treat. On average HMO Insurance tends to cost less than traditional healthcare due to a trade-off. There are two main reasons why coverage tends to be cheaper. First, they contract with specific providers and deal with large quantities of patients allowing them to negotiate a lower cost for the consumer and secondly, by eliminating care the HMO deems unnecessary they can keep the costs down for consumers. When one joins an HMO they will need to select a primary care physician who will act in part as the agent for the HMO and determine what care the patient needs. A Point of Service healthcare plan or POS is designed to offer effective and efficient client services at low costs. POS uses a network of preferred providers which patients need to utilize first unless it is deemed necessary to refer to other providers. The POS recommends that the patient chooses from their network of providers a personal physician who will tend to all of his/her needs unless it is determined that a specialist is needed. If a specialist is needed the personal physician can refer inside or outside of the network. If the patient visits a specialist without the personal physician's referral the patient may not be covered. A Preferred Provider Organization or PPO negotiates arrangements with physicians, hospitals and other providers who accept lower fees from the insurer for their services resulting in lower costs. If a patient goes to a network provider he/she will need to pay a co-pay which is a set amount per visit. This plan does allow the patient to refer themselves to a physician of their choice, including specialists, inside or outside the network but the patient may incur additional charges for out of network providers. A Health Savings Account or HSA is a tax free savings account which is used for medical expenses only. Once the money is used for non-medical reasons the money becomes taxable. These types of plans usually have high deductibles and some plans require money to be spent by year end and other plans allow rollover. The purpose of the plan is to allow individuals to save money on health insurance premiums and is usually best suited for those who are young and still earning income or for those individuals with considerable assets. People can open an HSA with the deductable and protect themselves at a relatively low cost from expensive medical care without reaching into retirement funds or losing significant assets. With the rising costs of health insurance premiums especially if your health plan is not employer subsidized, it is important to find the right insurance coverage for yourself and family. Whether you have coverage with your employer or individually here's what to look for:
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