Health Insurance – What You Need to Know

Health insurance is a great way to ensure that you have access to the health care you need. It can also help you manage chronic illness and protect against high medical costs. There are several different types of plans available to help meet your unique needs. These include basic, major and catastrophic coverage options. So read the article below to get more informations about the health insurance marketplace and short-term plans and many important topics 1. Definition Health insurance is a type of coverage that provides money for medical care. It covers the cost of hospital and surgical services, preventative care, prescription drugs, and more. Generally, health insurance is a contract between an insurer and a consumer that pays some or all of the costs of medical care. This usually involves a monthly premium payment. The term also refers to insurance that is purchased from private companies and through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. This coverage is regulated at the state and federal level. In the United States, this can be Medicare, Medicaid, or a government-run plan. Coverage limits: Similar to out-of-pocket maximums, this limit is set by an insurer and applies to the covered cost category of an insured person's health care. Once the insured person reaches this limit, their payment obligation ends. Copays: A fixed fee paid by an enrollee at the time of service that may be higher than the coinsurance rate. This fee is often charged by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or point-of-service plans (POS). Deductible: The annual amount an enrollee must pay before a health insurance provider starts paying for services. This is typically a percentage of the medical bill, and it must be met before the insurer starts paying for services. 2. Essential health benefits The Affordable Care Act requires that most health insurance plans cover a set of benefits, called essential health benefits (EHB). These include preventive services, prescription drugs, mental health and addiction treatment, maternity and pediatric care. The ACA also mandates that health plans offer a wide range of women's reproductive services, including birth control and breastfeeding coverage. Whether or not you're eligible for these benefits can vary between states and within individual plans. One of the most popular ACA benefits is preventive care, which includes regular doctor visits, vaccinations, and screenings for common diseases like breast cancer. This can help reduce your risk of illness and disease, as well as reduce costs over the long term. The ACA also requires that many health plans cover mental health and substance use disorder services, such as counseling and therapy. This can be a critical benefit to patients with these conditions, as they can often receive specialized care that is not available under most other plans. 3. Plan tiers The Affordable Care Act (ACA) categorizes health insurance plans into tiers that help to predict your out-of-pocket costs for medical services. These tiers are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Plan tiers are based on what federal law calls essential health benefits, which are things like trips to the emergency room, pediatric care, prescription drugs and preventive care such as physicals and immunizations. Each tier also must estimate the overall amount it will help pay for these essentials. These estimates are called actuarial values and are based on your estimated out-of-pocket expenses. You can use the tools on your marketplace to compare plan tiers and get an idea of what level is right for you. If you expect to have a lot of healthcare needs in the year ahead, you may want to consider higher-tier plan options. These plans typically have higher monthly premiums but lower out-of-pocket costs when you use care. 4. In-network and out-of-network plans An in-network provider (such as a doctor, nurse, lab or specialist) agrees to charge rates that are determined by your health insurance company. However, out-of-network providers don’t have a pricing contract with your health insurance company, so they can charge higher fees for their services. In-network plans usually cost less than out-of-network plans because they have a lower deductible and copayment. In-network coverage is also easier to use. If you want to visit a doctor who’s not in your network, you can submit a request to see them. If the insurance company denies your request, you can appeal. Generally, PPO and point of service (POS) plans allow you to visit an out-of-network provider at an additional cost. HMO and exclusive provider organization (EPO) plans do not cover out-of-network care, except in emergency situations. Some states, including New York, have laws to prevent surprise out-of-network bills. But these laws can be difficult to enforce, according to consumer advocates. 5. Copays and deductibles Copays and deductibles are two of the most important pieces of the cost puzzle when evaluating health insurance plans. They help you determine whether a plan will be financially feasible for your needs and budget. A copay is a fixed amount that you pay each time you get medical care or fill a prescription. They may seem small, but they add up quickly when you have ongoing illnesses or health conditions that require frequent doctor’s visits. Deductibles are another out-of-pocket cost that can be overwhelming if you don’t know what they are. They are a fixed amount that you must pay for covered healthcare services before your insurance company starts paying benefits. The difference between a copay and a deductible is that a copay is a flat amount, while a deductible is a percentage of the total bill. For example, if a physician’s visit costs $100, a copay would be $25. On the other hand, a deductible would be 20% of that $100. Once your deductible is met, you’d have to pay 20% of the bill, then the rest would be paid for by your insurer. 6. Pre-existing conditions Pre-existing conditions can be a serious problem for people who are seeking health insurance. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, insurers could deny coverage or charge higher premiums for people with certain medical problems. Before the ACA, individual market (health coverage that people buy on their own) insurers used medical underwriting in nearly every state. Under medical underwriting, insurers compared an applicant's medical history with the eligibility guidelines from State-run high risk pools that predated the ACA. The ACA prohibited these practices. However, insurers continue to use medical underwriting in some individual market plans, particularly short-term policies. In the case of these plans, a person who has had coverage for a pre-existing condition must wait a specific number of days before the new policy begins to cover that condition. The waiting period varies from one insurer to the next. 7. Short-term plans To fill temporary gaps in coverage, The companies built Short-term plans. These policies typically do not include coverage for maternity care or coverage for pre-existing conditions, but they can be very affordable. They can be an excellent choice for people who are between jobs and have a waiting period before their benefits kick in, or for those who missed the ACA marketplace enrollment deadline in their state. However, short-term health insurance is not a good option for anyone who needs serious medical care. These policies are not regulated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so they can deny coverage to applicants with preexisting conditions, exclude maternity care, and limit the amount of money that they pay for covered services. They also have high deductibles that make them less affordable than ACA-compliant plans. The ACA's individual mandate penalty was repealed in 2018, and several states have taken steps to limit the sale of short-term health insurance policies 8. Health insurance marketplace The health insurance marketplace, also known as the exchange, allows people to compare and enroll in health plans that meet the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) standards. The marketplace also provides information about subsidies that lower the cost of insurance for low- and moderate-income people. The ACA requires all plans offered on the exchange to cover all of the ACA's essential health benefits, which include no annual or lifetime benefit caps. It also prevents insurers from using medical underwriting, which excludes or rejects individuals based on their health status. Another key feature of the ACA is income-based premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions, which help keep health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs low for low-income individuals. These subsidies can be applied to both marketplace and non-marketplace plans. As states transition to state-based marketplaces, they should be careful to limit the availability of subpar, high-cost plans that could dissuade people from purchasing coverage. This can be accomplished by enforcing rules that prohibit the sale of these types of plans outside of the exchange and by tightening marketing rules for marketplace coverage. Recommendations Health insurance connects you to a regular source of care and helps reduce your financial concerns about medical costs. It also helps you avoid large medical bills that can lead to financial hardship and medical bankruptcy. In addition, it can help you get free preventive services, like screenings, vaccinations and even some check-ups before you reach your deductible.It is important to understand your health insurance so that you know what services are covered, and what is not. It is also important to choose an insurer that offers quality coverage at a fair price.