Find the Right Health Plan for YOU!

By Beth Reitler

As many individuals and families struggle to find affordable health insurance....I'm often asked--How can I compare the many different plans and carriers?  How do I know what health plan will meet my needs? There are several key factors to consider and luckily--the vast amount of information available via the internet will help you find instant health quotes and ample opportunity to compare health plans and carriers. 

3 Items to Consider When Comparing Health Insurance Coverage:

1.    Your Doctor:  To receive the most from your health plans--it is typically beneficial to stay "in network."  This refers to a group of doctors and facilities that have agreed to negotiated rates with certain insurance carriers.  If your doctor is "in network" with a provider--you will receive the lower negotiated rates as well.  Living in Richland County, Ohio this can be a major factor in finding the right coverage for you as our primary care physicians will oftentimes only work with a few select insurance carriers.  You can easily search for your doctor by visiting the insurance carrier’s website and searching their list of in network providers. 

2.  Price:  Visit any of the websites that allow you to comparative shop for health plans and you'll notice  (http://hcfor1.com/Default.aspx?BrokerID=051807RIBR) that allows you to compare individual health insurance quotes  the first thing you'll notice is the HUGE range of prices.  What do you get for the high cost plans and what are you giving up to bring the cost down?  Basically--the more out of pocket exposure you have--the lower your premium.  What does this mean...even when you have the BEST coverages offered by a health insurance carrier--you as the insured still have some expenses to meet on your own--such as deductibles, co-insurance (%), prescription co-pays, doctor office co pays, etc.  The higher these coverages are (the cost YOU pay) the lower your premium.  Think--my auto insurer won't pay for general repairs, gas, tires and oil changes for my car--health insurance companies don't want to pay for general maintenance of your body....  You can get these coverages--but you'll pay for them in premium.

3.   Will you Qualify for an Individual Plan?  This is probably the most important piece of information to know when you are faced with finding an individual health policy for you or your family....an insurance carrier CAN decline to offer you an individual health insurance policy based on past or current medical conditions or prescription usage.  You need to start looking for health insurance coverage before your current coverage ends--not AFTER.  If you have a condition that prohibits you from securing an individual health policy, you have some options to take advantage of such as COBRA and Open Enrollment policies--but you need to be aware of important time frames to take advantage of these options.  Talk with an agent sooner rather than later to determine the options available to you.