The Importance of Enrolling in Health Insurance

You may be in a hurry to choose the best health insurance plan for you and your family, but rushing the process may make you pick the wrong plan.

Here’s what you need to do to pick a suitable medical insurance plan.

Check if you have employer-sponsored health insurance: Most people already have employer-sponsored health insurance. The best part about enrolling in the plan offered by your employer is that they’ve already done all the research for you. Also, since the cost is usually shared between the employer and the employee, you’ll likely have to pay less as well. If you don’t have employer-sponsored health insurance or need additional coverage, you’ll need to buy a separate health insurance plan.

Compare the types of medical insurance plans: When researching health insurance, you’ll come across policies like HMO, EPO, PPO, and POS plans. The kind of plan you choose will affect your out-of-pocket expenses and the doctors that you can see.

Compare plan networks: Out-of-pocket expenses are usually lower when you go to an in-network healthcare provider. If you already visit certain doctors, make sure to check whether they are part of any plan’s network and pick that plan.

Compare out-of-pocket expenses: Different plans can have different out-of-pocket costs and limits. Make sure to calculate these expenses in relation to the premium you will have to pay for the plan and make your choice.

Compare benefits: By now, it is likely that you’ve shortlisted a few options. To further winnow down your choices, check the summary of benefits to see which plans offer coverage for a wider scope of services. For instance, some plans may have better emergency coverage, while others will have better coverage for mental healthcare, physical therapy, and fertility treatments. Make sure to compare the coverage offered by different plans and pick a suitable plan.

A final tip: Don’t discontinue your current health insurance plan before the new one begins. You never know when a medical emergency will occur and you don’t want to end up paying thousands of dollars in hospital charges because of an insurance coverage gap.