by SEIU International
With the increasing price of health insurance, it can be hard to know which policy and insurer is best for you. How can you be sure you are getting the best policy for your money. How can you be sure that this coverage will protect every eventuality
In order to best serve yourself, you should first know what a typical health insurance policy covers, what questions you should ask your provider in terms of the policy, how to get the lowest possible premiums, clauses and small print to watch out for before signing any papers, and what additional coverage you may need to consider aside from the standards.
What is Covered By a Typical Policy?
When it comes to health insurance, there are a number of variations in coverage. However, a very basic health care plan covers one well care visit per year per covered individual as a check up procedure, as well as visits to your primary care physician as needed for illness and injury.
These all incur a co pay that is determined by the plan for which you sign up, and your deductible may come into play with certain types of policies, having to be met each year. Some procedures are covered, such as pap smears (twice a year) and prostate exams (annually, based on age) or mammograms (annually, also based on age).
Different types of plans will cover health care differently. For example, an HMO plan, one of 3 different managed care type plans, consists of a network of doctors. You will pick a primary care physician within your network, and any specialists will have to be based on this doctor’s referral.
A POS, or Point of Service, plan will allow your doctor to refer you out of network for the same coverage as if you were to choose a specialist within the network for yourself.
With a PPO, you can see whoever you want, in or out of network, without a referral and just a small financial penalty for going out of network.
Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children’s Health Care provisions are highly regulated by the government and will cover the cost of medications, surgeries, hospitalization, and some skilled nursing care.
What Should I Ask My Provider?
Before you determine which health insurance plan is best for you, consider some questions that you should ask your provider:
* What is the yearly out-of-pocket limit? You don’t want to end up spending a fortune if you frequently go to the doctor.
* What is my co pay? You want to know what you will pay for medications, doctor visits, and emergency room care.
* What is my premium? What will you pay monthly for this coverage?
* What sort of child immunization/pregnancy/birth coverage is offered? Prior to choosing a policy, understand your family statistics.
* What small print is there in respect to pre-existing conditions? Make sure you know what will and won’t be covered based on your former coverage.
How Can I Save Money and Reduce My Premium?
Various options can assist you with minimizing the premium on your health cover; however, you have to weigh the value of doing so because most decisions are a trade off. First, shop around and find the best value. Don’t choose the first policy you research because it may be overpriced. From there, it all depends on what you are willing to give up.
* Raise your co pay. When you pay more up front for the prescription or the doctor’s visit, your policy doles out less money, which means that your premium will be lower. Remember, though, that you’ll be paying more every time you go to the doctor or fill a prescription.
* Opt for higher deductibles. Are you relatively certain you won’t run into a situation where your deductible will need to be met prior to coverage being enacted (such as hospital stays and emergency care)? If so, you might be accepting to go with a larger deductible so that your premium is minimized.
* Don’t opt for extras. If there are options for additional services, opt out of them to save a little cash.
Read Between the Lines:
Pay attention to the fine print of any health insurance policy in which you intend to enter. There may be clauses regarding pre-existing conditions that are not conducive to your life, and you may find that the provider reserves the right to raise your premium without notice or reason (such as rising industry costs). Be sure you know what your contract says, and you’ll be able to save yourself a lot of hassle and pain in the future.
Other Coverage You May Consider:
In terms of health insurance, there are different options you may consider, such as a flex spending plan, health savings account, or other indemnity plan. You might also want to consider purchasing a package that includes dental and vision insurance or perhaps even life insurance, since you will find that purchasing multiple policies from the same provider often results in discounts in premiums.
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Do you trust your government to do the right thing? See past party politics. New world order agenda.
great ad. Right on with how dems do it. Whats in it for us. THe constituency is in it for hand outs. Check all the polling obama and them passed a bill the people did not want
@sidneyhop and i am the pope
bla bla bla.. so the government wont deny us? liberals, you wont fool me with your double talk
The government is supposed to provide national defense, that’s it! Read the Constitution. Depending on the government to feed, cloth, house and give you free health care is socialism. I have lost jobs before. So? I go get another one. If there are no more jobs in that area, I move to where there are. I do not depend on the gov. for anything except national defense. I am against socialism, that is not what built our great country.
@Pirate88179
Listen, but what if you lost your job! If you don’t have some government than what is gov’t for. It’s for the people by the people. Health insurance profits are less important than peoples lives!!!!!!! Very rude comment on the bottom!!!!!
and oil
Your tax dollars subsidize the meat industry. taxpayer funded murder
Yes, murder is against the law…or it should be. So why is doctor assisted suicide in the bill? We, the taxpayers, have to pay for murder? And, abortions are also in the bill. So, we have to pay for those too? Why did Obama re-instate the VA Death Panels that GW got ride of? Those are real…look it up. and now, he wants that for all of us. No thanks. I do not believe in murder, especially taxpayer funded murder.
Now I see how people misinterpret the bible so easily. You can misinterpret that bill like that, then do you. Whatever.
Murder is against the law, and you people are so outlandish that you think murder is written in a bill? You need to read it again and next time read for understanding and put your biast aside.
Duh. Read the bill. Fox news did not write the bill. It is in there if you can read and are willing to do so. The house democrats wrote the bill, not republicans. There is a committee established who decides who lives and who dies. Sounds like a death panel to me.
First of all, I do have healthcare, so the govt isnt giving me a damn thing.
And that death panel crap your being brainwashed with by foxnews is trash. Some people are so gullible!!
I don’t have health ins. and I certainly don’t expect taxpayers to pay for mine. If I wanted it, I would get it but under Obama’s plan, this is not possible. Do you really want the government deciding what you need instead of your doctor? According to his plan, anyone over 60 will be considered to old to contribute to society any longer and money will be cut for their health needs. If I need a doctor, I go and I pay for it. Try it sometime, don’t depend on the government for everything.
How about you read for understanding next time?
And if the bill doesnt pass, people wont get the propwer treatment so they can live longer. The most expensice treatment is needed when you failed to do preventive care. EVRYONE NEEDS HEALTHCARE, yet you selfish ornery ass people only think of yourselves. I hope you lose yours one day and get sick.
Maybe then you’ll see past your ignorance.
Democrats are awesome. Blue Cross Democrats suck. Republicans are anti-American imbeciles.
If you don’t like big government or big insurance companies – tell you doctor about Qliance.
Qliance is where you pay your primary care doctor direct. No Medicare, no Medicaid and no insurance company needed.
You pay 45-75 bucks a month for UNLIMITED care.
Doctors get low overhead and hardly any paper work cutting costs.
You pay WAY less.
Doctors get payed WAY more.
Government gets – nothing!
Insurance gets – nothing!
It’s a perfect solution! Google:
Qliance
But we Must get THE PUBLIC OPTION, TOO — are it should be vetoed.
I’m just glad I’m not poor or old. Those people are absolutely screwed when this passes. Fortunately I, like Congress, won’t have to settle for the Medical Abuse system you fools have brought down on yourselves; I have money so until they build the wall to keep us from leaving I won’t have a problem.
All I have left for the American people at this point is Schadenfreude. Serfdom is no way of life. Perhaps they will learn this time. ROFLMAO….
Read my comments again. It has nothing to do with LISTENING, it is called reading. Have you read the bill? Guess not. I am conservative and do not do drugs. If you ever decide to actually read the bill, you will see everything is there that you, and others, including Obama (who has admitted to not having read the bill either) says is not. Do I believe Obama or what I can read with my own eyes in the bill?
things have “changed”-watch this:
“Shocking Hypocrisy Audio Found Obama didn’t like it when Bush Rushed Through Legislation”
radio interview with Randi Rhodes in 2004.
now obama demands laws are passed without reading the bill. the pens need to be removed from the corrupt bastards’ hands in congress before they continue signing our countrys’ death warrant
the sold out cretins forced members of congress to vote on cap and trade without even seeing the actual bill being voted on. the official copy distributed did not include 300 pages of amendments. health care fraud is no different.
PROSTITICIANS ARE STEAMROLLING BILLS BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE WAKING UP DAILY TO SEE THE GOVERNMENTAL CORRUPTION, LIES AND THEFT
GOVERNMENT IS NOT THE ANSWER, GOVERNMENT IS CANCER
barry brought up a good point in his “astroturf” town hall meeting when he pointed out that everything government touches turns into shit. “reverse midas touch”
“UPS and FED EX are doing just fine, it’s the post office having all the problems. . . . ”
-B.O. 11 august 2009
(maybe we should have barney frank duplicate his mortgage magic on healthcare. . . .)
watch: “post office”
The Whole Death Panel thing is BS aka Red Meat for the Party with No Solutions aka The Party with Chickenhawk Loud Mouths who speak for them in Talk Radio everyday to a Group of Narrow Minded Individuals.
Death Panels. Too Fucking FunnY!
and having a name like pirate is a good thing doesnt that mean lie cheat steal and kill lol
I laugh at the people on Medicare saying they don’t want no “socialised medicine” while failing to realise the irony of their situation and most of all I laugh at people like Palin who resort to words like “death panel” to get their lame fear-mongering across.