Items to Consider When Getting Health Insurance

It is important to get health insurance for yourself and members of your immediate family. Insurance helps to protect you from high health care costs, especially those related to chronic medical conditions or the need for hospitalization. Bottom line, you want health insurance to protect your savings and income.

So how do I get health insurance? There are several different ways you can get health insurance. For example, your employer may offer it to you. The majority of large businesses in the country provide for some type of health insurance for their employees. You may have to pay for part of it but you must have it. If you are self-employed you may have to get insurance on your own. Finally, if you are 65 or older, disabled or have little or no income then you may qualify for Medicare and Medicaid. These are health insurance programs paid for by the government.

Remember, if you have no health insurance, you're on your own when it comes to paying for your medical bills.

In choosing your health insurance plan there are many factors to consider. They are different depending if you are choosing an employee funded health insurance plan or a self-employed health insurance plan.

Let's look first at Employee Health Insurance. Usually the plans offered are under the umbrella of managed care plans. These are your HMO's and your PPO's. You will have to choose which one better suits you. Sometimes your employer will pay for part of your health insurance premium but this is becoming more and more uncommon. If you are unsure which way to go you can always go to your Human Resource department for guidance.

Private Health Insurance, on the flip side, is for those who are self-employed, unable to qualify for government programs or for those whose employers don't offer health insurance. You can buy private health insurance from an insurance agent or online at www.getinsurancefast.com.

Since the cost of the health insurance is usually the most important factor when deciding on a health care plan, ask yourself the following questions.

• How much is the monthly premium for the health insurance?
• How much do I have to pay out of pocket before the health plan kicks in?
• How much is the doctor's office and prescriptions co-pay?
• If I decide on a PPO, how much will it cost me to use doctors out of the network?
• Is there a yearly limit on how much the plan will pay in case of a serious medical emergency?
• What is not covered with each plan?
• I have a pre-existing condition. Will the plan cover that and if so immediately or do I have to wait?
• Is my doctor in the plan's network?

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