5 Things To Consider When Buying Health Insurance Plans In A Bad Economy
Post date: March 23rd, 2009 |
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If you are looking to purchase health insurance in today’s bad economic climate then here are 5 five things which you must look out for.
1. Does your policy provide you with cover both at work and away from your job?
Many health insurance plans contain specific exclusion clauses which eliminate your benefits for anything that could have been covered under Workers Compensation or similar laws. Now read that last sentence once again and pay close attention to the words ‘could have been covered’. That is right, most self employed individuals and even a few small business owners don’t carry Workers Comp on themselves.
There are specific insurance plans that 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 insurance premiums?
Home based business owners, independent contractors (1099′s), professionals and a lot of self employed individuals do not take advantage of the tax laws available to them.
A lot of individuals who are paying all of their own costs are allowed to deduct their monthly insurance premiums. This alone can reduce your net out-of-pocket costs by as much as 40%. Ask your accounting professional whether you are eligible or check out the IRS website to get more information.
3. Look carefully at a policy’s internal limits
All insurance policies use some form of internal controls to determine how much the company is going to pay out for a particular procedure or service. There are two basic methods which are used:
A. Scheduled Benefits
Many policies, some of which are marketed specifically to indpendent and self employed people, have a detailed schedule of what they will pay per visit to the doctor, stay in hospital or even what limits are placed on payments for testing within a 24 hour period. This sort of structure is usually associated with ‘Indemnity plans’. If you are offered one of these policies make sure that you see the schedule of benefits in writing. It is vital that you understand any limits up front because once they have been reached the company will not pay anything over the stated amount.
B. Usual and Customary Expenses
‘Usual and Customary’ refers to the rate of pay out for a doctor office visit, procedure or hospital stay which is based upon what most physicians and facilities charge for a particular service in that geographical or comparable area. ‘Usual and Customary’ charges also represnt the maximum level of coverage on most major medical policies.
4. Don’t forget that you are able to shop around
Because you are reading this you are probably shopping for a health policy.
Every day people shop for everything from food to a new house and during the shopping process value, price, personal needs and general market conditions are evaluated by the buyer. Bearing this in mind, it is very disconcerting that the majority of people never bother to ask how much a procedure, test or even doctor visit is going to cost. In this constantly changing health insurance market it will become more and more important for these questions to be asked. Asking about price will help you to get the most from your policy and lower your out-of-pocket expenses.
5. Look out for networks and discounts
Almost all insurance firms work with medical networks to access discounted rates. In broad strokes, networks are made up of of medical professionals and facilities who agree to charge discounted rates for services rendered. In most cases the network itself forms one of the defining attributes of your program. Discounts can 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 imperative that you preview the network’s list of physicians and facilities before committing yourself to a plan. This is not only so that you can ensure that your local doctors and hospitals are part of the network, but also to see what your choices would be if you were to need referral to a specialist.
Follow these tips and you will find cheap health insurance which gives you the level of cover you need.