If you're looking for a low cost medical insurance plan, your best bet is to avoid traditional indemnity (fee-for-service) plans and go with an HMO or a PPO. Here's a comparison of the two plans and information on where to the best rate on either one.
Medical Insurance Plans
Medical insurance plans fall into two categories - traditional indemnity plans and managed health care plans (HMOs, PPOs, and POSs). Of all the health care plans HMOs and PPOs are the least expensive. Here's an overview of each of these plans.
HMO (Health Maintenance Organization)
With an HMO you pay a monthly fee and are assigned to a network of doctors and hospitals you must must use for your health care. You are also assigned to a primary care physician who oversees your care and refers you to specialists.
The advantages of using an HMO are:
- You only pay a fixed monthly premium no matter how much your medical costs are.
- There are no deductibles (the amount you pay toward medical claims before your insurance company will pay).
- Co-payments (the amount you pay for each doctor visit) are cheap, costing $5 to $10 per visit.
- HMOs encourage preventive care, and many HMOs offer health education classes and discounts on health club memberships.
- There are no benefit caps - you're covered as long as you're a member of the HMO.
- There are minimal paperwork hassles.
PPO (Preferred Provider Organization)
With a PPO you are also assigned to a network of doctors and hospitals, but you pay for your medical services as they are provided. You are also assigned to a primary care physician who oversees your medical care.
The advantages of using a PPO are:
- You may see a specialist within the network without getting permission from your primary care physician.
- You may see a doctor or specialist outside the network, but for a slightly higher fee.
- Low co-payments, usually $5 to $10.
- PPOs offer more preventive care such as health club discounts, health maintenance workshops, smoking workshops, and weight loss workshops.
Where to Get Low Cost Medical Insurance
Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com/health-insurance.html or click on the following link to get low cost medical insurance quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more insurance tips in their Articles section, and get answers to your questions from an insurance expert by using their online chat service.
by Brian Stevens
