5 Tips for Purchasing Health Insurance

Looking to get yourself or your family a new health insurance plan that’s affordable and offers adequate coverage? Check out our tips and tricks to pick the right health insurance plan.

Choose a Suitable Plan:

When choosing health insurance, it can help to ask oneself these questions: What are my family’s healthcare needs? Are all my family members healthy? Is anyone in the family planning a pregnancy or surgery? How much can we spend on health insurance? People who already have a health insurance plan should assess if they are happy with their current plan. If not, determine what’s missing.

Know What Type of Plans to Look For:

There are numerous types of health insurance plans available in the US. People who are 65 or older can apply for Medicare. Those under 65 usually get health insurance through their employer. However, people can also choose to purchase health insurance through marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. People with meager incomes may be eligible for Medicaid, which is funded by the federal and state governments.

Learn What Common Health Insurance Terms Mean:

We get it; it’s not exciting to learn health insurance terminology. But to really compare health insurance plans and pick the best one, it’s important to get familiar with the most important terms, like cost-sharing, copay, deductible, premium, etc.

Consider a High-Deductible Plan:

Not everyone wants to or can afford to spend hundreds of dollars for health insurance. Fortunately, a high-deductible plan can help keep the premiums low. Keep in mind that with a high deductible plan, the policyholder will need to pay more money out-of-pocket in the event of them needing medical care. However, the total premium paid to the insurance company will be relatively low. People who are healthy can consider a high-deductible plan.

Review the Network:

All insurance providers partner with select healthcare professionals. Given this, most insurers require policyholders to only visit these in-network healthcare professionals. People who visit a doctor or hospital outside the insurer’s network may have to pay substantially more. For this reason, it helps to review the insurance company’s network before signing up for their plan.