5 Important Facts About Purchasing Health Insurance Policies In A Bad Economy
Post date: April 20th, 2009 |
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If you are buying health insurance in today’s poor economy then here are 5 five things to look out for.
1. Does your plan give you cover both on and off the job?
Many health insurance policies have specific exclusions which wipe out your benefits for anything which could have been covered by Workers Compensation or a similar law. Now take a minute to read that last sentence once again and pay special attention to the phrase ‘could have been covered’. That is right, the majority of self employed individuals and even some small business owners don’t carry Workers Comp on themselves.
There are specific insurance plans which will cover you on and off the job 24 hours a day, if the law doesn not require you to have Workers Compensation coverage.
2. Are you writing off your health insurance premiums?
Independent contractors (1099′s), home based business owners, professionals and other self employed people are not taking advantage of the tax laws.
Many individuals who are paying all of their own costs may deduct their monthly insurance premiums. Just that by itself can lower your net out-of-pocket costs by up to 40%. Ask your accounting professional if you are eligible or check the IRS website to get more information.
3. Look closely at any plan’s internal limits
All health insurance plans have some sort of internal controls to determine how much the insurer is prepared to pay out for a specific procedure or service. Here there are two basic methods:
A. Scheduled Benefits
A lot of policies, some of which are marketed specifically to self employed and independent individuals, have a detailed schedule of what they will pay per visit to the doctor, hospital stay or even what payment limits are imposed for testing within a 24 hour period. This structure is frequently associated with ‘Indemnity plans’. If you are presented with one of these plans be sure to see the schedule of benefits in writing. It is vital that you understand these limits up front because once they have been reached the company will not pay any expenses above the stated amount.
B. Usual and Customary Expenses
‘Usual and Customary’ refers to the pay out for a doctor office visit, hospital stay or procedure that is based on what most doctors and facilities charge for a particular service in that geographical or comparable area. ‘Usual and Customary’ charges represent the maximum level of coverage on most major medical policies.
4. Do not forget that you can shop around
If you are reading this you are probably shopping for a health plan.
Every day people shop for everything from food to a new house and while shopping value, price, personal needs and general market conditions are evaluated by the buyer. With this in mind, it seem very strange that most people never ask how much a test, procedure or even doctor visit cost. In today’s constantly changing insurance market it is going to become more and more important for these questions to be asked. Inquiring about price will help you get the most from your policy and reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.
5. Look out for networks and discounts
Almost all insurance companies work closely with medical networks in order to obtain discounted rates. In broad terms, networks are made up of of medical professionals and facilities who agree to bill at discounted rates for services rendered. In most cases the network forms one of the defining properties of your program. Discounts will generally vary from 10% to 60% or even more.
Medical network discounts vary but in order to ensure that you minimize your out-of-pocket expenses, it is vital that you check out the network’s list of physicians and facilities before committing yourself to a policy. This is not only to ensure that your local doctors and hospitals are in the network, but also to see what your options would be if you need a specialist.
If you are looking to purchase cheap health insurance then here is a great place to get a free no obligation health insurance quote.