10 Questions To Ask Before Accepting A Health Insurance Quote

When you are considering health insurance it is essential that you ask a number of specific questions about a health insurance plan quote to ensure that you get the right cover at the right price. Here we look at 10 questions that you need to ask:

Question 1. What out of pocket expenses and deductible will you have to pay? No medical insurance plan is going to meet all of your medical bills and you will usually have to meet a deductible before your insurer will pay out at all and will also ask you to meet certain other expenses.

Question 2. What examinations and health screenings are you covered for? Health plans vary widely when it comes to preventative care and you will have to look to see what screening tests are covered. For example, does the plan cover all family members including babies, kids and adults and allow for things like as breast examinations, mammograms and pap smears?

Question 3. Is specialist care and referrals covered? If you need a referral to a specialist this might or might not be covered and, if covered, may have restrictions placed upon that cover.

Question 4. How is emergency care and hospitalization treated? Sometimes you will find that emergency care and hospitalization are only be covered if pre-approved and you must fully understand the circumstances under which such treatment is covered.

Question 5. What prescriptions costs does the plan cover? You will have to examine any accompanying prescription plan with care to determine what drugs are permitted and the extent to which you may have to meet part of the cost of any prescription drugs.

Question 6. Are both vision and dental care covered? In a lot of cases medical insurance plans will not cover vision and dental care and these then have to be covered under separate plans.

Question 7. Are psychiatric services, psychotherapy or mental health services covered? Although a lot of medical plans will provide cover for mental illness in its various different form cover is frequently limited and you will normally find that there is a limit to the amount of cover provided.

Question 8. Is hospital, home health and nursing home care covered? While most plans will offer fairly good hospital cover you will have to look at just what cover is provided for home health and nursing home care.

Question 9. Is physical therapy and rehabilitative care covered? Health insurance plans will frequently separate out initial treatment and follow-up rehabilitative care and physical therapy and so it is essential to determine exactly what is and what is not covered.

Question 10. Does the plan cover alternative care? As an increasing number of people are turning to alternative treatments like acupuncture or holistic treatments health insurance companies are increasingly including cover for such treatments. It is however still early days for alternative treatment and, if this is something that you want to take advantage of, you will need to look to see to what extent it is covered.

The ten questions here are important when you are considering any health insurance quote but you might wish to include other items to your own list like how much paperwork is involved when making a claim under the plan and how much choice you will have in terms of hospitals, doctors and other care facilities. The most important thing however is to ensure that you fully understand just what cover you are getting and how much it will cost before signing an application for cover.