Health Insurance Articles
4 Questions To Ask Your Health Insurance Agent
2010-06-24
When shopping for health insurance, one can easily get intimidated with the overwhelming amount of information that must be dealt with. Premiums, coinsurance, riders, co-pays, and a lot more -these terms are just some of the things one must consider. As a consumer, never forget your right to ask questions. When speaking with your insurance agent about your health insurance, ask questions that will help you better understand your health insurance policy. Here are 4 important health insurance questions you should ask your agent.
What is the amount of the deductible?
The deductible refers to the amount that an insured individual must pay before the insurance company begins to start paying. The deductible will have a tremendous impact on your insurance premiums. Many finance and insurance experts recommend aiming for higher deductibles in order to reduce the monthly premiums that one must pay.
What is the coinsurance and out-of-pocket?
Depending on the insurance company, one's out-of-pocket limit may also be referred to as "break point" or "stop-loss." Out-of-pocket refers to the amount of money, aside from the deductible, that one has to cover before the insurance company pays 100% of one's medical costs. This limit is paired with the policy's coinsurance amount which dictates the percentage of all costs beyond one's deductible.
Is the policy's deductible per-confinement, per-incident, or per-year?
One of the ways insurance companies reduce their risks in order to lower their costs is by classifying deductibles either by incident or confinement, as opposed to the standard per-year. Typically, once the deductible is met, it is met for the year. Any additional medical costs will be applied to one's out-of-pocket limit and once satisfied, will be covered at 100%. So, if one encounters more incidents in a year and causes a significant amount of medical costs, one will be covered.
Do you use Networks?
A plan that will offer networks is a good thing. This means your plan is good at any physician or at a hospital anywhere in the state. It is important, however, that one makes sure that the policy does not have coverage holes. You might end up paying 100% of all costs. You must be able to receive network pricing. If one goes to a network provider with insurance and certain aspects are not covered by the insurance plan, one may still receive huge discounts just because of the existence of the policy.
One must keep in mind that purchasing a health insurance plan is just as important as purchasing a new vehicle or home. One must never hold back any health insurance questions in order to fully understand what the insurance policy can and cannot do. One must also review the policy in writing or its fine print so to speak.
