Inexpensive Health Insurance Classifications
Before you are able to buy inexpensive health insurance you need to know the different kinds of heath insurance that are available. So we are going to go through some classifications of the different health insurance types and see if we can help you identify which one will best suit you.
You are probably familiar with with or have at least heard of a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) and an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). These are the two classifications which get the most exposure in the media today. They are usually a part of a group insurance policy. The main difference between these plans is cost and choice. In an HMO plan you have a primary physician who has to sign off on medical choices for you, or in other words is your medical overseer. If you need specialist care he or she must sign off or refer you to the specialist. You are also confined to a certain network of doctors for your care. An HMO plan is usually the most confining but the cheapest of the two. You see, in a PPO plan you still have a network of physicians, however, if you so choose you can see a physician outside of this network but you will have to pay an extra amount to do so. A PPO is most expensive than an HMO but is favored by those who want to have more choice in their health care.
There are other types of health insurance plans not as well known. A POS (no, this actually stands for Point of Service) insurance plan is a combination of the PPO and HMO. You will chose a primary care physician, but you won’t get charged for seeing a doctor outside of the network. POS health care plans tend to run a bit higher than both the HMO or the PPO but, of course, is more flexible.
Indemnity plans are also available and can provide a good alternative to the other plans discussed thus far. Basically what happens with an indemnity plan is you are allowed a daily amount to spend on health care. Anything over this amount you will be responsible for at the end of the policy time frame. If you are looking for flexibility then this is the plan for you, but it comes at a price. It is the highest of the plans available which we have discussed.
You can find other twists and variations on these plans, but overall the above plans will be what you will find from health insurance providers. They are the basic types of classifications of plans. Choose the type you want to shop around for so you can make an apples to apples comparison.