Health Insurance Essentials
1. If you are
purchasing your policy from a new and/or unfamiliar health
insurance company, it is obviously very important to make
sure the company has solid ratings, but even if the
company is well known (i.e.
Blue Cross, or Humana
etc.) it's still always wise to check out any provider's
health insurance ratings to make sure you are dealing with a
valid and trustworthy business.
Remember, before insurers agree to supply you with a
health insurance
plan, they investigate you and your background . You
should put them to the test as well. Look for insurer and
health insurance ratings through A.M. Best, Moody's, or
Weiss rating agencies.
2. In the event of a
catastrophic illness or injury, your health insurance policy
needs to provide a sufficient amount of health care
coverage. However, to protect itself from ever having to pay
too much, your insurer limits the lifetime payout.
Therefore, lifetime payout is the maximum amount of
reimbursement the health insurance company provides during
your lifetime. To be safe you should look for a
policy that has a lifetime payout of at least $1
million otherwise you run the risk of prematurely
depleting the entire compensation for health care costs
available to you.
3 An out-of-pocket
maximum provision limits your out-of-pocket
payments per year. It is important in the event of a serious
illness or injury, and it is recommend that you consider
only policies that carry one. However, remember a low
maximum limit will increase the amount you pay in
premiums. Try to establish a reasonable out-of-pocket
maximum to balance risk with cost.
4. The renewable
provision is a must. It guarantees your health insurance
plan will not be canceled because you become ill. You may be
required to continue paying your premiums while ill (unless
the health insurance includes the waiver of premium
provision too), but you won't lose your coverage.
5. Make sure your
policy covers emergency medical services. In the
past, some managed care plans were criticized because they
required the primary care physician to approve emergency
health care. Read through your health insurance plan paying
special attention to the definition of emergency and verify
with the health insurance company what is exactly covered.
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