Buying a health care insurance plan can give you a headache, whether you are looking into buying it for yourself, for your entire family, or for your small business.
Like most things in life, it comes down to one main issue – money. How much are you willing to pay, and what do you expect in return?
Here are 5 main benefits that will help you make the best choice.
Benefit From the Premium
This is the entire sum of money you will pay for your insurance, depending on your plan benefits, with the deductible aside. When choosing this, you have to give it a lot of thought.
Think about whether you have any mental illness in your family or any other illnesses that can be genetically transmitted.
If you want to go for family insurance, you should definitely think about if you have anyone in your family with allergies and if they could be transmitted to your children. Dental insurance is also a must for everyone.
If you are not yet a parent but thinking of becoming one, take into consideration the pregnancy complications that might occur along the way, including the C-section if that will be the case.
We are not saying to prepare for the worst, but if you have decided to play the “better safe than sorry” card, let’s think this through.
To save money, you need to pay attention to the deductible, copay, and coinsurance amounts, as these can be tricky. It’s an entire game based on “the more you pay, the less you actually pay” and vice versa.
Deductible Amount and Its Benefit
The deductible is a specific amount of money you need to pay before the insurance company pays its share from what’s left of the medical bill. They won’t pay the entire remaining amount after you pay your deductible, though.
The trick is that you need to pay the deductible for any medical expense, no matter how high or low your medical expenses are.
This means that, regardless of whether you are getting an operation or just going in to get a prescription, you’re paying it!
Basically, the healthier you are, the higher you can set your deductible. The more visits you make to your doctor, the lower it should be.
Copay Benefits
This is the cost that you pay on the premium each time you go to a specialist. Copays additionally apply to emergency room visits and professionally prescribed medications that you need to buy.
The copay trick is that the more you pay on your premium, the less you pay for the copay. Thus, if you need a medication refill often, then you should probably opt for a higher premium.
Coinsurance Benefit
The insurance will pay only a part of the remaining amount after you pay your deductible, so this is another payment you have to consider. If you have a $100 medical bill, you need to pay your deductible – let’s say you set that to 10%, which would be $10.
Then, the insurance comes in and covers a part of the remaining $90. Beware, though, this can vary a lot! Then, you have to pay the remaining percentage, which is the coinsurance.
Let’s say your coinsurance is 30%. You’d have to pay another $30. Remember, the insurance company pays its share only if you pay your deductible.
Dental Benefits
As expensive as dental care is, premium insurance for dental isn’t all that high. This is definitely something you need to take into consideration when you are looking into purchasing insurance.
As you might already know, dental problems appear very suddenly, and it usually needs to be taken care of urgently. Definitely check that dental box on your application.
Summary
There is no perfect plan. It just depends on the right plan for you, your family, or your business. If you don’t plan on becoming a parent soon, you might not want to go for maternity insurance.
Similarly, if you do not have any mental sickness history in your family, or you are 40 years old or older, it might be a good idea to go for a short-term health plan. This is especially true if you are in generally good condition. Stay healthy!