Choosing a health insurance plan can be a stress-inducing process. There are a lot of terms and prices being thrown around, so how do you choose which will work best for you? In this blog, we’ll help you learn how to compare health insurance plans.
Choosing a Marketplace
The first thing you’ll need to do is choose your health care marketplace. Your marketplace will give you a list of options and show you their premiums. If you have an employer that offers health insurance, you don’t necessarily need to search the marketplace, as their plan is likely going to be a good bit cheaper for you.
How to Compare Health Insurance Plans
Once you access your marketplace, you’ll likely get tons of different insurance options. In general, you’ll be choosing between an HMO, a PPO, an EPO or a POS. What do these mean, though?
HMO: HMOs, or health maintenance organizations, require you to find a health care provider in network and to get a referral for specialists. These usually have decently low out-of-pocket costs, but they don’t have a ton of provider flexibility.
PPO: A PPO, or preferred provider organization, doesn’t require you to be in network or get referrals. That being said, in-network providers are usually cheaper. These plans offer more flexibility, but the out-of-pocket costs are usually higher.
EPO: An EPO, or exclusive provider organization, has low out-of-pocket expenses and doesn’t require referrals. However, your provider flexibility is limited.
POS: A POS, or point of service plan, allows you to go out of network, and you’ll have a primary care doctor who will help you figure out your best care options. Referrals are required for specialists.
All of these options can also be HDPDs, or high-deductible health plans. These plans have low premiums but high deductibles. They also allow you to use a health savings account to offset out-of-pocket costs.
Choosing Your Plan
Once you have your options laid out in front of you, you’ll need to find which plans meet your individual health care needs. Find plans that allow you to use your doctor in network, choose between more coverage with high premiums or low premiums with more out-of pocket costs and make sure your plan covers the specialists and prescriptions you’ll need. If you’re overwhelmed with how to compare health insurance plans, you could always use a simple comparison tool to help you out.
Author Resource:-
Daniel Stewart has been helping people with their money management and personal finance with over 15 years’ experience in business finance. You can find his thoughts at HSA solution blog. For more information about HSA Vs FSA, visit the website.
