Protect your Family on Time: Best Health Insurance Options
When your work doesn’t give you health insurance, or you’re a business owner, you’re going to have to find health coverage on your own. This can be stressful because there are so many options to choose from.
You never know when a medical emergency will happen to you or someone in your family, so it’s better to be covered before it happens. Medical bills can quickly start to add up when not protected with insurance.
We’re going to go over some of the best health insurance plans here in this article.
First, What are the Major Health Insurance Plans?
You can choose four significant types of health insurance plans: those being the Health Maintenance Organization, Preferred Provider Organization, Point of Service, and Exclusive Provider Organization.
The Health Maintenance Organization category is when you’ll be covered with primary care physicians in-network, but won’t cover out of network doctors. You’ll need a referral when you need surgery or to go to a specialist.
With a Preferred Provider Organization, you won’t need a primary care physician, and you’ll be covered by using in-network providers. You’ll also get some coverage when you go to an out of network doctor, but you’ll have to pay a small fee.
When you have Point of Service health insurance, you should use in-network providers, but you don’t have to. You have to choose an in-network primary care doctor, but other specialists can be out of network, and you will have to pay out of pocket for those services. You’ll need to be referred by your primary care doctor for procedures or to visit a specialist.
Exclusive Provider Organization insurance doesn’t require that you need a primary care physician. However, you’ll only get coverage with in-network doctors.
What’s Best for My Family’s Needs?
This might seem not very clear when looking at all the different types of plans available. When considering which one is best for your family, you should look at their health and your health closely.
You should ask yourself some questions and answer them honestly.
- Are there any foreseen health problems with my children, spouse, or me in the future that we might need to see a specialist?
- Is there a family history of specific health problems I’ll want to be covered for in the future?
- When something happens, do I want to choose the specialists, or do I want my doctor to?
- If a health condition happens, how much out of pocket expenses can I afford?
When you choose a Health Maintenance Organization or Point of Service health plan, you’ll need to go to your primary care doctor for a referral to a specialist. If you don’t mind your doctor choosing specialists for you, then this is an excellent way to go.
Your doctors will know which ones work in-network to keep costs low. With Point of Service plans out of pocket expenses are more economical when you have a referral to out of network providers.
If you’d rather have the freedom to choose which specialists you visit, an Exclusive Provider Organization or Preferred Provider Organization plan might be a better choice.
If you’re in an urban area, an Exclusive Provider Organization plan will be better because you’ll have access to a lot of doctors in-network. This plan won’t cover any costs when not in-network.
When you live in a place with not a lot of access to specialists in-network, a Preferred Provider Organization is better. Your insurance company will cover out of network providers with only charging you a small fee.
Our Opinion about Which Companies are Best
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Cross Blue Shield is a significant health coverage company if you’re looking for the most coverage. It’s perfect for people who live in rural parts of the country.
Blue Cross Blue Shield works with 96% of hospitals and 95% of doctors in the United States in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. With this company, you’ll never have to worry about not finding a doctor in-network that’s located near you.
Agile Health Insurance
Agile Health Insurance company is best for people who are in between jobs but still need to be covered. It offers short term plans to temporarily protect you and your family when you have no other option.
This won’t work as a long term solution for health care. If you or a family member has a medical condition and being without health insurance could cause a substantial financial burden, this is a perfect plan for you.
CIGNA
When you and your family are frequent travelers outside of the country, CIGNA is a great health insurance provider. You’ll have access to 1.65 million hospitals around the world. This is an excellent feature if you or a family member has a severe health condition.
You won’t feel like you have to stay within the United States on the off chance there is a flare-up. You can travel all over the world and still be covered.
The Bottom Line
Health insurance is an integral part of life, and you should never be without it. Don’t wait until there’s a medical problem, have it before, so you don’t find yourself with massive debt.