Individual Health Plans And Its Various Versions

The United States of America has one of the best but costliest healthcare facilities in the world. It also has the dubious distinction of being the only OECD country which does not have a universal healthcare plan. In such a scenario, it is left to the individuals to take care of their finances when medical emergency strikes them.

Prevention is always better than cure. And buying an individual health plan is exactly the kind of prevention that one needs in a country like the USA where medical expenses is one of the highest in the world.

Most Americans prefer to stay without any sort of insurance plan than going in for an individual medical coverage. Their logic- individual plans are way too costlier than other insurances such as family or group insurances. Now that is a wrong justification. With the high standard of living and rising health costs, it has become even more necessary to have an insurance that lessens your medical burdens.

If a person is self employed, or the family coverage does not include him or if he is between jobs, then a person has no option but to go for individual plans. However he has to the option to choose what kind of individual plan he can buy. Here is a look at all the individual plans that a beneficiary can choose from.

The most popular of these individual plans are the PPOs or the Preferred Provider Organization plans. Here though there is a chosen network of healthcare providers, one can choose a doctor out of the network, depending on the choice or the need. In an emergency situation, the beneficiary may not even have to pay extra for services from outside the network. This is the most sought after plan for people looking to buy individual health plans.

However, if there are budgetary constraints, then you can buy a basic individual plan such as the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans. The plans are really cheap and cover some of the indispensable preventive treatments. This form of managed care is a good idea if one wants to buy cheap individual insurances.

Then there is the old school indemnity health plans. It provides insurance based on deductibles and up to the maximum allowed for that policy. There is also the Specified Benefit Plan. Here though the premiums to be paid are much lower, the maximum benefits payable also tend to be much lower.

For an individual looking for insurance, the types of cover differ a lot for the ones available through the employers. Though the average cost of individual health plans are costlier, the sunny side is that the plans are customised to individual needs. And in this day and health, it is better to pay a little more than put one’s health at stake.