Affordable health insurance plans are still available but the secret to finding them first lies in understanding just how the costs of your plan are made up.


If you are not familiar with health insurance then the costs involved in a health insurance plan can appear to be somewhat complex and many people are surprised that, after they have paid what seems like an arm and a leg, they find themselves faced with a bill the very first time they make a claim. Before you are landed with a large medical bill therefore, it is a good idea to take a minute to learn just how health insurance plan costs are arrived at.


The first and most obvious cost is the monthly premium or, if you so choose, the quarterly or annual premium. If you belong to a union or employer's group insurance plan then you will normally be required to meet only a percentage of the premium and this will usually be taken directly from your pay check.


The majority of health insurance plans will also include an annual deductible which is a sum of money which you will have to pay before your insurer begins to pay out on any claims. Thus, with an annual deductible of ,000 you will have to meet the first $1,000 of your medical bills every year before your insurer will begin paying out. You might be familiar with the principle of paying a deductible from your experience with car insurance and, if this is the case, will also know that the higher the deductible on your plan the lower your premiums will be. In addition, if you have a family health insurance plan then this will frequently include multiple deductibles for the individual members covered by the policy.


Most health insurance policies will also include a co-payment which is a fixed amount of money which you will have to pay towards every medical bill. Exactly how much you will have to pay in co-payments will depend very much on the type of policy which you hold. For example, co-payments on HMO plans are frequently lower than those on indemnity plans. Additionally, the co-payment will also vary between different types of medical service and, if you are a member of an HMO plan, will normally increase if you seek treatment outside of the HMO network.


In cases where a co-payment is not required you will often find that this is replaced by co-insurance which is similar and is a sum of money, in this case expressed as a percentage, which you will need to pay towards every medical bill. A normal co-insurance ratio is 80/20 which means that your insurer will meet 80% of each medical bill while you pay 20%. As with co-payments, co-insurance will usually increase if, as an HMO plan member, you seek treatment outside of the HMO’s network. In this event you will also find that, where a claim exceeds what is considered by the insurance company to be 'reasonable and customary', you could be required to meet the additional cost.


By this time you will see that comparing health insurance plans is about considerably more than just comparing premiums. Accordingly, when you are looking for an affordable health insurance plan it is extremely important that you read the small print of any quote very carefully and that you avoid the frequent temptation to just choose the plan which has the lowest monthly premium.


If you want to keep costs low and are in an HMO plan then you should try to remain inside the HMO’s network and, where you do feel the need to go outside the HMO's network, then compare the actual cost of treatment to what your insurer considers 'reasonable and customary' before you agree to treatment.


It is also possible to keep your costs down on many plans by raising or lowering the deductible and by selecting higher or lower co-insurance. Precisely how this can be done is beyond the scope of this brief article but is a question of balancing the different costs involved against the probability of having to claim on the plan.


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