A health insurance policy’s basic purpose is to take care of your medical expenses in return, for which you pay an annual fee called the premium, which can be paid monthly in installments. But how much protection the cheap healthcare plans offer you depends upon which policy you opt for and who provides it. Some policies may even cover compensation for lost income. So here is a list of the various types of health insurance policies you can pick from.
Health savings account
This type of plan allows you to contribute some amount into a certain limit which is tax-free. The unused funds roll over yearly, and the interest earned is tax-free. This is good for those looking for cheap healthcare plans who cannot afford a health insurance policy and are more inclined to tax-free health plans.
Indemnity plan
An indemnity plan lets you pay the bill out of your pocket first and then claim for reimbursement. These plans were very popular previously, in which a certain amount of hospital expenses is to be paid by you, while the insurance provider will spend the rest of the bill. These plans allow you to choose which doctor you can visit. The insurance company does not decide which hospital you should visit or verify whether the visit is necessary. However, this flexibility is only to a certain extent since clearance from an insurance company is still required in emergencies and for admission into an emergency room if you are not incapacitated.
Exclusive provider organization
EPO plan requires its members to use a defined network of physicians and a Primary Care Physician (PCP) who will provide referrals to network specialists for treatments. However, you should know that this condition may not apply for emergencies, and you will be responsible for a small co-payment.
Point of services
A POS plan provides a PCP to choose from a network of providers. You will receive higher coverage, but if you choose a non-network medical healthcare facility, you may be subject to a deductible, and the coverage will also be less. Furthermore, you may have to pay upfront and then claim reimbursement.
Add-ons for health insurance
- Riders: you can expand your insurance coverage by adding a rider to your basic health insurance plan, which lets you customize it as per your requirement for an additional charge. You can choose from various types of riders like personal accident riders, critical illness riders, maternity riders, etc.
- Top-ups: an additional coverage that applies if your health expenses exceed the amount covered by your basic insurance plan. A basic and top-up insurance plan can provide sufficient coverage at an affordable premium. Top-up plans cover the expenditure of a single hospitalization, but super tops plans cover the entire year’s expenses over a wide range of illnesses.
- Defined benefit plans: non-hospitalization expenses like medicine, food, travel expenses for your attendant, treatment expenses of illness that did not cause hospitalization when you were hospitalized, etc., are generally not covered by the basic health insurance plans. In such cases, defined plans will be helpful as they provide you with an assured pre-defined benefit regardless of expenses.
To conclude
Although the importance of health insurance cannot be overstated, you must get a suitable health insurance plan as early as possible.
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