There are numerous health insurance plans out there so it can be hard to choose the perfect one. However, protecting your health is important, so the entire process is worth it. We have a couple of tips that should make things easier for you.
Comparing health plans
There are multiple online services like iselect that can help you do insurance comparison. These websites will place various offers side by side so that you can compare the prices and the benefits for each one.
Switching
If you feel like your current health plan is not offering you enough benefits it might be a good idea to switch to a new one. Most people are afraid to do that because they believe that it might affect them. However, there are no consequences. If you switch insurers there won’t be a break in your cover and you won’t need to serve again the waiting periods. Additionally, your Lifetime Community Rating Loading won’t be affected.
When you choose a new provider you need to make sure that it offers you all the features you need. Find a plan that was designed for your needs. For example, if you are a student you could benefit from young adult discounts.
The categories
When it comes to the plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace, there are four different categories: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The payments are divided. For Platinum you have to pay 10%, while the insurance company pays 90%, for Gold you pay 20% and the insurance company pays 80%, for Silver you pay 30% while the insurance company pays 70%, and finally, for Bronze you pay 40%, while the insurance company pays 60%.
When you find the right category you should determine your needs first. For example, if you don’t take regular prescriptions and you don’t use medical services regularly you could use a Bronze plan. These plans also have very low monthly premiums.
If you do visit your doctor a lot and you also need regular prescriptions, you might want to choose a Platinum or a Gold plan. These plans will pay more of your costs if you need medical care, but the premiums are also higher.
The costs
Your monthly premium is not the only cost you should think about. There is also the deductible, which represents the amount of money that you have to pay for covered health services. After you reach your deductible, the payments you make for medical services are called copayments and coinsurance. Finally, you will need to take into account the out-of-pocket maximum which represents the maximum amount that you have to spend for your covered services in a year. After you reach that amount the company will cover the costs.
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