Health insurance is a kind of insurance which covers all medical expenses which arise due to an accident. These expenses may be related to cost of doctor visit charges, hospitalization fees or other medical expenses. Health insurance provides various health cover options for the people. There are different plans for different kinds of individuals. This provides a good chance for people to get their needs covered at their own discretion.
Different companies offer different types of health insurance plans. Some of them have long-term policies which cover individuals for a fixed period of time ranging from one year to thirty years. The premiums of such plans are based on your medical history and age. Long-term plans are more expensive as compared to the short-term ones. But if you take the benefits seriously, you can reduce these expenses considerably.
Some of the long-term care insurance plans offer financial assistance in case of emergency or illness. There are also the individual health insurance plans which cover individuals only for a particular ailment and they need to pay their own expenses for medical treatment. Individual health insurance plans are becoming popular these days with the introduction of the affordable care act in health insurance. Some insurance companies provide short-term health insurance as well.
The health insurance plan schemes are divided into two sections, the affordable care plans and the catastrophic health insurance plan. The affordable care health insurance plan is free from any deductibles. However, they offer only a limited amount of coverage and are tailored for the aged and the infirm. They can be bought individually according to the requirement. Catastrophic health insurance plans are mostly purchased by employers to cover their employees' unexpected medical needs. These health plans cover unexpected illnesses and injury for a fixed time frame.
The two categories of health insurance plans are, fee-for-service and cover all medical expenses incurred in the course of treatment. The fee-for-service health insurance plan is usually purchased by those who have regular jobs and are able to pay the deductibles. However, coverage can also be purchased through the employers.
Another type of health insurance policy is the private health insurance. Private health care policies can be taken individually or grouped together. In private health insurance policies, there are two types of coverage. These are, basic and added benefits. The basic health care coverage provides coverage for expenses incurred for health care services and medical examination services during the lifetime of the policy holder.
The additional benefits covered by the health insurance plans are, therapy costs, disability income, and nursing home care. An insured person who has been receiving benefits for the basic health care need is not eligible for the additional benefits. Apart from these two kinds of health insurance plans, a person can also buy the catastrophic health insurance plans. However, they will be paying high premium amounts.
It is highly recommended that the insured pay part of the total medical costs. This will help in reducing the financial burden on the company. The insured can also seek a major medical assistance from the medical aid schemes available under the schemes like, government grants and loans. If you want to buy an individual health insurance policy, you can search online or take the help of an agent.
Most of the health insurance companies offer a wide range of benefit plans for their clients. The benefits offered by them include, hospitalization benefits, long term care, dental care, disability income, childcare, home healthcare, eye care, maternity benefits, psychotherapy, travel insurance, and many more. The best part about buying the self-funded health insurance is that the insured does not have to pay any income tax on it. However, most of the companies impose a tax on the self-funded policies so that they can recover some amount of their loss.
Health services provided by the hospitals or healthcare service providers are subject to the rates charged by the insurers. The rate of the premium given to the insurer is proportional to the extent of medical services provided. Some of the health insurance plans are mainly targeted at providing coverage for the medical expenses incurred by the insured after the policy holder becomes incapacitated. When an insured person suffers a major medical expense, his insurance policy pays the complete amount of the medical expense to the insurer. These health insurance plans also cover the cost of prescriptions.
Health insurance plans were originally designed to provide financial support to individuals or families when they become ill. Today, almost all the health care providers offer health insurance plans as an added advantage to the services they offer. The insurance card issued by the health care providers serves as proof of insurance and this serves as a proof to the insurer that the individual is covered for all the medical expenses.