Health Insurance An Intelligent way of coping with escalating medical costs Health insurance is basically an insurance whereby the insurer pays for medical and health costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to illnesses covered in the plan or due to accident. Advancement in technology and medicine has made medical treatment more expensive The states, world over, have failed to meet the demand of the public medical and health care system. The long wait for specialised treatment has forced people to look for viable and affordable alternate. To meet this growing and urgent demand, several government and private insurance field in the field of health and medical care have come up.
It is also true that you cannot predict what your medical costs would be if you or one of your family member falls sick or meets an accident and your bills could be really high! If you have medical insurance, most of your cost is covered by third party which could either be your employer or insurance company.
Hence health insurance is one of your most important needs. Without it, one serious illness or accident could wipe you out financially.
Ensuring credibility of the insurance companies
The insurance companies in the field of health and medical care have some form of rating system whereby they are rated by their performance and efficiency. So it would be in the benefit of the customers? interest that he opts for minimum ?A?level.
Besides this, he should ensure that company?s panel of doctors and medical experts include experts from a wide range of fields
The company should also be backed by good financial status and solid experience in the field
Types of medical insurance
Today, with medical insurance costs rising dramatically each year, even relatively simple medical procedures can run into the thousands of dollars. In addition, the type of care available and various policy options are also becoming more complex
These plans differ widely in terms of coverage, costs and benefits. It?s important to know the difference. At first glance, different medical insurance plans and policies may seem the same. However, after going through the entire thing and breaking through the technical jargon, you may discover they are quite different. Buying medical insurance is one of the most confusing and things consumers purchase because of the often difficult-to-understand terminology, exclusions, and limitations, contained in these medical insurance polices.
Medical policies and plans pay expenses incurred for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions
Payments may be made to either YOU or your medical provider directly. If it?s your provider, you must "assign" your benefits to them. The policy benefit booklet will detail the terms and conditions of what is covered and what is not covered under the medical insurance plan. Its important to read this contract BEFORE you need to use your medical insurance plan and ask your agent or to explain anything that may be confusing. It is always better to prefer that payments are made directly to medical help provider so that you are spared the initial financial worries!
?freedom-of-choice? plans allow you to choose any doctor and hospital. These policies call for a "deductible." This means that you must pay a stated amount first, before the medical insurance company begins paying benefits. The deductible can be anywhere from 15% to 25% of the total cost. The general rule here is: the higher the deductible you are willing to accept, the lower the cost of your overall medical insurance premium.
The other plans allows you to choose a doctor or hospital from a list of "preferred" providers in order to receive maximum benefits. If you go to a doctor or hospital that is not a member of the preferred list, the medical insurance plan will cover a lesser percentage of the costs. It?s a good idea to check with the medical insurer BEFORE you use the plan to determine if your physician or hospital is a contracting provider with your plan. Also, it is your responsibility under these types of medical insurance plans to make sure your doctor refers you to other "preferred" providers.
A good insurance should cover Doctor visits, Lab tests, Hospital stays and Diagnostic tests. There are quite a few companies covering health risks with good Insurance policies
You must decide the total sum insured as per the premium affordable. The premiums are generally calculatd on the basis of age and family medical history.
Compensation up is normally to the extent of sum insured
Points to remember before buying
With several private players in this field it becomes all the more important for the public to be aware of the salient features of the various insurance health schemes and plans. But before the customer decides to take up any schemes/plans he should be absolutely certain about his exact needs and be open to suggestions about his health by health counselors! With so many insurance companies in the market, he just might become easy target for some unscrupulous agent and end up buying wrong plan altogether!
1 .First and foremost, if he has family, it advisable that he or she take family health package taking into consideration the critical diseases and accidents which should include operation cost as well as pre and post hospitalisation costs are covered. But then make sure, what is more cost effective, individual health package or family.
2. Cost isn't the only thing to consider when buying health insurance. You also need to consider what benefits are covered. You need to compare plans carefully for both cost and coverage.
2. The company should have tie up with a wide number of hospitals and specialists so that if and when the need arises, the customer is immediately able to get the requisite medical care.
3. If the customer has family history of some disease, he should make it a point t include that particular disease in the package irrespective of the fact whether at that point of time he has it or not!
4. That he gets ?cashless cards? or the facility whereby, when required, he is provided with medical attention without shelling out hard cash!
5. Make sure that policy protects you from large medical cost
6. Make sure and check properly to see that the policy states the dates from which it would start paying. Also read carefully what is covered and what is excluded from the coverage.
7. Almost all plans have some sort of managed care program to help control costs. For example, if you need to go to the hospital, one form of managed care requires that you receive approval from your insurance company before you are admitted to make sure that the hospitalization is needed. If you go to the hospital without this approval, you may not be covered for the hospital bill.
8. If you currently being treated for a medical condition that may not be covered under your new plan? Are there limitations or a waiting period involved in the coverage?
Benefits
Looking at the present scenario, we can safely say that taking health and medical insurance will definitely go a long way in easing our worries at unexpected medical emergencies. The cost of medical treatment is rising dramatically each year and one must make it his priority worth paying special attention to!
It is also true that you cannot predict what your medical costs would be if you or one of your family member falls sick or meets an accident and your bills could be really high! If you have medical insurance, most of your cost is covered by third party which could either be your employer or insurance company.
Hence health insurance is one of your most important needs. Without it, one serious illness or accident could wipe you out financially.
Ensuring credibility of the insurance companies
The insurance companies in the field of health and medical care have some form of rating system whereby they are rated by their performance and efficiency. So it would be in the benefit of the customers? interest that he opts for minimum ?A?level.
Besides this, he should ensure that company?s panel of doctors and medical experts include experts from a wide range of fields
The company should also be backed by good financial status and solid experience in the field
Types of medical insurance
Today, with medical insurance costs rising dramatically each year, even relatively simple medical procedures can run into the thousands of dollars. In addition, the type of care available and various policy options are also becoming more complex
These plans differ widely in terms of coverage, costs and benefits. It?s important to know the difference. At first glance, different medical insurance plans and policies may seem the same. However, after going through the entire thing and breaking through the technical jargon, you may discover they are quite different. Buying medical insurance is one of the most confusing and things consumers purchase because of the often difficult-to-understand terminology, exclusions, and limitations, contained in these medical insurance polices.
Medical policies and plans pay expenses incurred for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions
Payments may be made to either YOU or your medical provider directly. If it?s your provider, you must "assign" your benefits to them. The policy benefit booklet will detail the terms and conditions of what is covered and what is not covered under the medical insurance plan. Its important to read this contract BEFORE you need to use your medical insurance plan and ask your agent or to explain anything that may be confusing. It is always better to prefer that payments are made directly to medical help provider so that you are spared the initial financial worries!
?freedom-of-choice? plans allow you to choose any doctor and hospital. These policies call for a "deductible." This means that you must pay a stated amount first, before the medical insurance company begins paying benefits. The deductible can be anywhere from 15% to 25% of the total cost. The general rule here is: the higher the deductible you are willing to accept, the lower the cost of your overall medical insurance premium.
The other plans allows you to choose a doctor or hospital from a list of "preferred" providers in order to receive maximum benefits. If you go to a doctor or hospital that is not a member of the preferred list, the medical insurance plan will cover a lesser percentage of the costs. It?s a good idea to check with the medical insurer BEFORE you use the plan to determine if your physician or hospital is a contracting provider with your plan. Also, it is your responsibility under these types of medical insurance plans to make sure your doctor refers you to other "preferred" providers.
A good insurance should cover Doctor visits, Lab tests, Hospital stays and Diagnostic tests. There are quite a few companies covering health risks with good Insurance policies
You must decide the total sum insured as per the premium affordable. The premiums are generally calculatd on the basis of age and family medical history.
Compensation up is normally to the extent of sum insured
Points to remember before buying
With several private players in this field it becomes all the more important for the public to be aware of the salient features of the various insurance health schemes and plans. But before the customer decides to take up any schemes/plans he should be absolutely certain about his exact needs and be open to suggestions about his health by health counselors! With so many insurance companies in the market, he just might become easy target for some unscrupulous agent and end up buying wrong plan altogether!
1 .First and foremost, if he has family, it advisable that he or she take family health package taking into consideration the critical diseases and accidents which should include operation cost as well as pre and post hospitalisation costs are covered. But then make sure, what is more cost effective, individual health package or family.
2. Cost isn't the only thing to consider when buying health insurance. You also need to consider what benefits are covered. You need to compare plans carefully for both cost and coverage.
2. The company should have tie up with a wide number of hospitals and specialists so that if and when the need arises, the customer is immediately able to get the requisite medical care.
3. If the customer has family history of some disease, he should make it a point t include that particular disease in the package irrespective of the fact whether at that point of time he has it or not!
4. That he gets ?cashless cards? or the facility whereby, when required, he is provided with medical attention without shelling out hard cash!
5. Make sure that policy protects you from large medical cost
6. Make sure and check properly to see that the policy states the dates from which it would start paying. Also read carefully what is covered and what is excluded from the coverage.
7. Almost all plans have some sort of managed care program to help control costs. For example, if you need to go to the hospital, one form of managed care requires that you receive approval from your insurance company before you are admitted to make sure that the hospitalization is needed. If you go to the hospital without this approval, you may not be covered for the hospital bill.
8. If you currently being treated for a medical condition that may not be covered under your new plan? Are there limitations or a waiting period involved in the coverage?
Benefits
Looking at the present scenario, we can safely say that taking health and medical insurance will definitely go a long way in easing our worries at unexpected medical emergencies. The cost of medical treatment is rising dramatically each year and one must make it his priority worth paying special attention to!
