Questions to Ask When Choosing Health Insurance

Apart from the financial cost of the policy, the most important questions to ask when choosing medical insurance regard the type of coverage you can buy and who (if anyone) is covered in addition to the purchasing individual. Keep the following questions in mind when you compare health insurance:

• Are there limits to how much the policy will cover for a single claim or the lifetime of the policy? If you have chronic conditions that require continuous medical attention, you will want a plan without limits. Be sure that you know how much the policy will cover in such a situation.
• Does the plan allow you to choose your own doctor or specialist? Are you limited to a select pool of physicians and do you have to see your primary care provider before seeing a specialist?
• Does the policy include a prescription plan? Medications can be quite expensive, so ask how much the policy in question will cover and what are the prescription co-payments.
• Is it an individual insurance policy or part of a group health insurance plan? Unless you are young and healthy, individual insurance is always more expensive, so find out if the additional cost is worth it for your needs.
• Is the policy an HMO or PPO plan? Determine what type of health insurance works best for you and your family in your current financial and health care situation. Look specifically into HMOs and PPOs as each type of plan offers different health insurance benefits.
• What is the company's policy on preexisting conditions? This is perhaps the most important question to ask after determining who the plan covers. Insurance companies do not hesitate to deny paying a bill for a condition they deem resulted from a preexisting condition. As such, be absolutely certain what the policy states and how that affects your health care.
• What is the policy on emergency care? Will you need preapproval in the event of an emergency? This can be a hassle if preapproval is needed before health care can be administered.