Health Insurance - What You Need To Know by Bill Jimson

Looking for health insurance that is right for you and affordable can be a Herculean task. There are various types of health insurance prevailing in the market today. Trying to understand each and every health insurance available can take a great deal of your time. With regards to health insurance, the best thing you can do for your family is to take time to understand what health insurance is all about and how much it is going to cost. The following information will provide you all the details on all kinds of health insurance available for you and your family.

What kind of health insurance do you need?
When considering health insurance, you should know the difference between HMOs and PPOs. Even though these are the two main options for health insurance, there are some additional options as well that may be considered for your health insurance plan.

Individual Health Insurance or Group Health Insurance
Check with your employer to find out if they have offered an appropriate health plan for you. It is very likely that your employer must have put you in a group health insurance plan. In such plans, the premium is either covered fully or partially by your employer. If a group insurance plan is not offered to you, then you have no choice but to apply for individual insurance plan, where you will be obligated to pay the entire insurance premium.

HMO Health Plans vs. PPO Health Plans
Even though there are several differences between an HMO (Health maintenance organization) and PPO (Preferred provider organization) plan, there are two main differences that need to be thought-about: network and cost.An HMO is an insurance plan that is more affordable, but it also has its limitations.This type of insurance allows you to select a primary physician that is in the insurance plan's network of health providers and any referrals to other physicians need to be within network coverage. The only drawback is when you go outside the network, thus resulting in paying extra money out of your pocket.On the other hand, a PPO is more expensive because it has a broader network of health providers. Moreover, this plan gives you the flexibility of going out of the network. Although, you won't be covered for 100% of the service, your insurance plan will set a certain percentage to help you out. Another type of health insurance plan falling between HMO and PPO is POS (point of service) insurance plan. POS insurance requires you to have a primary care physician within the network set by the health providers. Also, the same primary care physician can refer you outside of your insurance plan's network.

Other Health Insurance Factors to Consider
Before deciding between HMO and PPO insurance plans, you have to find out exactly what kind of coverage each health plan offers. If you plan to have kids in future, you have to look for options among these two plans as to which takes care of all your maternity needs. If you are looking for a mental health care provider, then make sure your health insurance takes care of your expenses. Also, you can save money if you don't require these services.

The Specifics of a Health Insurance Plan
Hence, before applying for any health insurance, make sure what portion of health insurance you are responsible for. This basically comprises of deductibles, co-payments when visiting your doctor and percentage of co-insurance you are obliged to pay. (http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1014531)