Individual Health Insurance Plans

Details of Individual Health Insurance Policies

Individual health insurance plans (sometimes called family health insurance plans) are generally categorized as either indemnity health plans or managed-care health plans.

Typically, indemnity health insurance plans offer a broader selection of providers than managed care plans but only pay their share of the costs for covered services after they receive a bill (which means that you may have to pay up front and then obtain reimbursement from your health insurance company).

There are several types of managed-care health insurance plans. These include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and Point of Service (POS) plans.

Managed-care plans typically make use of provider networks. In general, you'll have less paperwork and lower out-of-pocket costs with a managed care individual health insurance policies.