Approximately 30.1 million people in the U.S. under the age of 65 are uninsured. If they get sick or need medical care, they will have to come up with their own way of paying for it.
With the rising costs of healthcare — and the uncertainty of falling ill — this obviously isn’t an ideal situation.
However, purchasing private health insurance can be a little confusing. Check out this overview of the basic health plans available to get an idea of what would be a good fit for you.
Temporary Health Insurance
On occasion, you may find yourself without health insurance for a short period of time. For example, you may be between jobs or waiting for your health insurance coverage to begin.
To make sure you’re covered for the interim, you can apply for temporary health insurance (also called term health insurance). These policies typically last only three months or so, but in some cases (and states) can cover you for up to twelve months.
Preferred Provider Organization
A PPO is a type of insurance in which a group of healthcare professionals or facilities offer services at a discount to subscribers. You must see a preferred provider — an in-network medical professional — to get the discount. You can go to healthcare professionals outside the network but will have to pay full price.
Health Maintenance Organization
HMOs are health insurance companies that will cover your medical costs subject to certain limitations that will be spelled out in your plan. You typically pay a monthly or annual premium. HMOs contract with certain medical providers and will only cover care sought from their provider network.
High-Deductible Health Plan
If you are young, healthy, and looking for a way to save on insurance, a high-deductible health plan may be the way to go. In exchange for lower monthly premiums, you agree to pay a higher deductible. This means that the portion of your medical costs that you have to pay will be higher.
HDHPs also come with a Health Savings Account (HSA). This account allows you to save money free from federal income tax to use for medical emergencies.
Catastrophic Coverage
Catastrophic coverage is an extreme version of an HDHP. It has a very high deductible and is typically only available to healthy people under the age of 30.
If you can’t afford the typical cost of health insurance, this is a good option. Monthly premiums are very low and affordable. However, the plan doesn’t cover much. It’s basically a safety net in case of a freak accident or medical emergency and doesn’t offer much else.
Private Health Insurance Explained
This was a quick overview of a few different types of private health insurance plans that are available. There are also a couple of variants on HMOs and PPOs called Point-of-Service Plans and Exclusive Provider Organizations. HDHPs can further be refined into Consumer-Driven Health Plans which allow you to pay some of your medical services with pre-tax dollars.
The good news is that with so many options available, there’s bound to be one that works for you. The bad news is finding it can be a challenge.
However, we here at Just Us Insurance Services make it easy! Click here to get your free quote as well as expert advice on the best private health insurance plan for you.
