Determining A Health Insurance Plan That Works For You

Health insurance is one of the most important decisions we make in our lives. It can sometimes be easy to ignore the need for health insurance in Freeport, IL when you are generally healthy and do not need it, but the wrong time to wish you had insurance is when you have a catastrophic health issue come up. When it comes to health insurance, identifying the right policy is important for your financial future too—about half of all bankruptcies in the U.S. are due to medical bills and illness. Here are a few tips to sort through the potentially confusing options and choose a good policy.

Choose the Right Type

There are three basic types of traditional plans: health maintenance organizations (HMO), preferred provider organizations (PPO), and point of service plans (POS). Each has different requirements for using in-network versus out-of-network providers, and rules about how and when you can see specialists. The type you choose is usually a matter of what kind of flexibility you want in choosing your care providers. There are also health savings accounts (HSA) or similar plans that have higher deductibles and lower premiums; these are generally best for people who are healthy and rarely use insurance in Freeport, IL except in catastrophic emergency situations.

Factor in Providers

If sticking with the same doctor that you have been seeing since junior high is important to you, that can be a major factor in deciding which insurance in Freeport, IL is right for you. Different plans have different access to providers, so be sure to pick one that includes the care providers you want to work with. If you have no primary care provider, or you are comfortable with switching, this will be less important in your decision-making process.

Review Your Plan Annually

Whether you have an employer-sponsored plan, or you purchase insurance on your own, it’s important to review the plan each year at enrollment time. Important things to note are increases in premiums, changes in coverage, or items that were previously covered that have been eliminated. In some cases, employers or insurers will eliminate specific coverage in order to keep premiums from increasing too much, but if they are eliminating or reducing coverage on something you need—for example, maternity coverage if you plan to have a baby—you need to know so you can be prepared for the extra costs or choose a different plan.

As you are determining your plan for health insurance in Freeport, IL, keep these factors in mind so you can get a policy that offers the coverage you need at a price you can afford.