GET A QUOTE

for personal assistance and a quote, call 321-972-6184 or e-mail:

* indicates a required field

How Do I Choose a Health Plan?

If your employer gives you a choice of plans or you need to purchase your own coverage, it is crucial that you understand your health insurance choices and pick the plan that best suits you and your family.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when choosing a health insurance plan:

  1. How affordable is the cost of care?

    • What is the monthly premium I will have to pay?
    • Should I try to insure most of my medical expenses or just the catastrophic expenses?
    • What deductibles will I have to pay out of pocket before the insurance plan starts paying?
    • After I have met my annual deductible, what coinsurance will I pay before my out of pocket maximum is met?
    • What expenses will I incur if I use out of network doctors and hospitals?

  2. Does the insurance plan cover the services I am likely to use?

    • Are the doctors, hospitals, laboratories and other medical providers that I use in the plan’s network?
    • Do I have out of network benefits? If so, what are the deductibles and coinsurance expenses?
    • Is a primary care doctor needed for referrals?
    • What happens in the case of an emergency or urgent care situation out of network?
    • Are pre-existing conditions covered? If not, when will they be covered?
    • How can I find out if my prescriptions are covered and what tier level will I pay for my prescriptions.
    • Does the plan cover alternative medical therapies such as acupuncture or chiropractic treatments?
      Is Maternity covered?

  3. What is the Quality of the Insurance Carrier which I have chosen?

    • How have independent government and non-government organizations rated the plan you have selected?

      For example, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (www.ncqa.org) issues a Consumer Assessment of Health Plans (CAHPS) report for every medical plan and facility.

    • What kind of accreditation has the plan received from groups such as NCQA or the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)? (www.jcaho.org)
    • How many patient complaints were filed against the plan last year and how many were upheld by state regulatory agencies like the state insurance commission or the state medical licensing board?
    • Do the doctors, pharmacies and other services in the plan offer convenient times and locations?
    • Does the plan pay for preventive care such as diet and exercise advice, immunizations and yearly mammograms, yearly physicals and preventive colonoscopies.

« Back to Articles of Interest