Choosing Private Health Insurancea
Key Points
- Plan Type: Indemnity plans offer flexibility in choosing healthcare providers but may involve higher out-of-pocket costs. Managed care plans, such as HMOs and PPOs, have network restrictions but often cover a larger portion of medical expenses.
- Total Costs: Beyond monthly premiums, evaluate additional expenses like deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance to understand your potential financial responsibility.
- Coverage Scope: Ensure the plan includes services you need, such as vision, dental, or specific treatments. Be aware of exclusions, especially for pre-existing conditions or activities like adventure sports.
While many employers and governments around the world provide health services for people, these tend to be a fairly basic, one-size-fits-all kind of cover.
And because these plans cover so many people, there are often drawbacks such as long waiting times.
Arranging your own health insurance can be a wise decision if you have some surplus income.
However, finding the right cover requires research and careful thought.
Insurance policy documents are often long, so it can be helpful to know what you need to find out before you begin reading.
This article provides a list of the key pieces of information you need to know to make a good insurance decision.
The type of plan
There are different types of private health insurance that you can choose from.
The main differences between them come down to how much you have to pay when you use the insurance and which doctors you can see.
The first type is an indemnity health plan. These pay a certain percentage of your medical bills, but not usually all of them.
They often have low premiums and allow you to see any doctor, but they are flexible for the insurer too and often subject to many restrictions.
The second type is a managed care system. These cover much more of your medical bills, and often all of them. An HMO is one where you must see doctors they choose.
A PPO lets you see anyone, but it will be cheaper if you choose one that your insurer recommends.
The true cost
While you might hope that you never have to use your insurance for a medical emergency, it is important to calculate how much it will cost you if you do.
This is because premiums do not provide the whole picture of the costs you will have to pay for your insurance.
There is usually some type of fee for accessing healthcare services.
This may be a small flat fee, or it could be a deductible.
This is when you have to pay a certain amount before your insurer will step in to cover the rest.
The extent of the cover
Many insurance plans exclude specialist services such as vision and dental care.
Others cover checkups for these but exclude surgeries like dental implant procedures.
If you would like these to be covered, it is important to dig into the details and find out if they are.
You should also look for restrictions that could limit your lifestyle.
For example, some insurance plans will not cover you for injuries incurred while participating in certain adventure sports.
If these are things you enjoy doing, make sure they are covered or see if there is an option to add them on.
Also, look for policies related to pre-existing conditions. If you have one, make sure your plan covers any treatment you need for it.
Conclusion
To get the best combination of cover and price, you should compare insurance policies from multiple providers.
This can be time-consuming, but ultimately it is worth it to secure your future health.
Skimming the documents for these three key pieces of information can help speed up the process by quickly ruling out unsuitable options.
Then you can investigate your shortlist more thoroughly.
