How to decide your health insurance needs

January 23, 2008

Selecting your health insurance is a tricky proposition if you have your objective not clearly defined. Before deciding on your health insurance you can follow some self practicing steps.

Figure out your personal needs

Decide upon the budget for your personal health care and how much do you intend to spend on your medical needs. What is the state of your health and fitness as on day?

Once you have done that figure out the kind of health care insurance you would require. There are various types of health insurance

Indemnity (fee based plans)

They are the standard health care plans where the insured pays a fixed premium in order to receive health care insurance. These plans generally are based on shared concept where you pay a small part of your medical expenses, around 10-20% whereas the rest is paid by the insurance company.

Managed health care plans

In these plans, the insured receives treatment from a group of health care providers who are assigned to the insured. Mostly you are entitled to receive treatment from doctors within the group only. If you wish to have the services of a doctor beyond the group, you are required to pay extra. These plans are also cheaper than the Indemnity plans.

Specialized plans

These plans are focused on special pre defined situations and / or particular illnesses. The insurer will pay only under those defined circumstances. For example major diseases plan would pay your bills only for the treatment of major diseases defined in the policy clauses.

Posted in Health, Health insurance