Health insurance is a must-have in the event you have a serious medical emergency. You never know when disaster will strike in the form of illness, accident or injury. If you aren’t prepared with a good health insurance plan, you could stand to lose everything. If you have a good health plan in place, you can rest easy that your expenses will be taken care of. You have a couple of choices when it comes to purchasing health insurance. You can go with an individual plan, or if your employer offers group insurance, you can save money by choosing that plan.
Before buying health insurance, take time to calculate all of the potential costs involved. It is important for you to take the time to understand exactly what your co-pays, premiums and deductibles are when you have health insurance.
See if there’s an employee-wellness program with your company that could possibly save you money on health insurance. Many employers offer incentives for employees to have their health and lifestyles assessed. You might be able to get lower premiums and sign up for a fitness program for instance.
Open Enrollment
Figure out what your needs are before open enrollment is offered. Even though you may have had the same plan for a number of years, it may be too expensive or it might not cover your current needs. You should also take advantage of the open enrollment period to make adjustments to your dental and vision care policies if these benefits are offered by your employer.
Keep track of your prescription coverage. Sometimes health insurers change the medications they will cover, so each year when you re-enroll, review the terms carefully. If a medication you rely on daily is not covered anymore, you may need to find a new insurance carrier.
Any coverage has exceptions loopholes, including your own health insurance plan. Thoroughly read your policy, so you wont be surprised when they tell you that your insurance doesn’t cover something. Be prepared beforehand to pay for certain things out of your pocket, such as certain medicines or treatments.
During the phone interviews that health insurance companies conduct before granting coverage, don’t answer questions the company doesn’t ask. Give direct answers to their questions and nothing more. By volunteering extraneous details, it is likely that they will note them in your file and possibly increase your policy costs or deny coverage altogether depending on the information you provided.
Opting for generic, rather than name brand drugs, will save you money. Only in rare cases will you not be able to receive generics, and multiple studies show that there is no difference in the drugs except for their brand name.
Review your insurance plan annually to see which prescriptions are covered. This changes every year, so you should ensure you look over the list yourself when you re-enroll, so that you won’t be shocked when you refill your prescription.
If you plan to have a baby soon, you should find a healthcare plan that will cover all expenses relating to your pregnancy, labor and delivery. Some heath insurance policies do not cover some or all of pregnancy-related services.
Health Insurance
You can be charged an additional fee if any of the people covered under your health insurance policy is entitled to insurance through their employer. You may be able to save a little money if you each get health insurance through your own jobs, so be sure you figure out the cost for both scenarios.
For those that are young and healthy, and do not visit the doctor very often, a HSA, or Health Savings Account may be the way to go. You can save money you do not pay on insurance, and it can go straight into this account to pay for medicines and doctors, if needed.
Compare all your options. For instance, group insurance will be less costly but an individual plan will provide you with more choices. The big thing to keep in mind is that you need something in place. If you don’t have health insurance, it could prove to be disastrous. Even a seemingly minor incident could drain you financially. Do the wise thing by researching all the options available for health insurance today.
