How To Select A Health Insurance Plan

Author:  Kathy Spiliotopoulos

Caveat Emptor – buyer beware – certainly applies to the purchase of a health insurance plan!  Recently (February 2^nd, 2010) there was a small exposé on ABC’s Good Morning America basically saying that if it is too good to be true it likely is! Here is the link to the story GMA story: Signs of a Questionable Health Insurance Plan

Only you can select a Health Insurance Plan that’s right for you!  To do so requires that you balance your health insurance wish list with how much you are willing and able to pay.  For example, a plan with open access to any provider will cost much more than a plan that limits you to a provider network.  Provider networks can be large or small, but what’s important to you is whether or not your doctors are included in the network, or if you don’t have a doctor, that the network provides access to a reasonable number of doctors that are qualified and conveniently located.  Similarly, the richness of the benefits covered, out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles and co-pays, limitations and exclusions, affect the price.

There are many how-to guides available on the internet to help you select a Health Insurance Plan.  Below are a number of websites that you may find useful:

http://www.ahrq.gov/CONSUMER/insuranceqa/

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Provides a pamphlet “Questions and Answers About Health Insurance , A Consumer Guide” that can be downloaded or access on line on its website.

http://www.oprah.com/money/How-to-Choose-Health-Insurance

Oprah’s website has a very useful and comprehensive set of tools in “Choosing the Right Health Insurance for You.”

http://www.smartmoney.com/Spending/Deals/Choosing-the-Best-Health-Plan-13340/

This article on Smatmoney.com provides a worksheet for helping you decide which option to choose from your employer during open season.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/health-plans/2009/11/11/how-to-choose-a-health-plan-12-helpful-tips.html

US News & World Report provides “How to Choose a Health Plan: 12 Helpful Tips” on its website.

http://financialplan.about.com/cs/insuranc1/a/HealthInsurance.htm

This article on About.com outlines the pros and cons among types of plans, such as HMO, PPO, and Indemnity (fee for service).

http://personalinsure.about.com/cs/healthinsurance1/a/aa070703a.htm

Also on About.com is this article, “10 Key Considerations When Comparing Health Care Plans.”