You want the best for you and your family.
And that’s especially true when it comes to health insurance.
When something goes wrong with your health or a family member gets sick, you want to make sure that everything is taken care of.
That’s why we’ve created this easy-to-follow, 5-step guide to ensure that you’re getting the best health insurance for you and your family.
Scroll down to learn more.
1. Figure out if you have a current physician, specialty doctor, or pharmacy that you love working with
With a lot of health insurance plans, you have to stay “in network.”
What does “in network” mean?
A health insurance plan can either be an HMO or a PPO.
An HMO is:
A plan where you must go to a pre-selected network of primary care doctors, hospitals, specialty doctors, pharmacists, and more. There are very, very few opportunities to get coverage outside of that list.
A PPO is:
A plan where you have more flexibility in choosing your doctors, hospitals, pharmacists, and more. These plans also have a network of providers, but there are more opportunities to visit non-network providers. Also, when you do visit an out-of-network provider, it’ll be covered.
So, if there’s a physician, specialist, Urgent Care, or pharmacy that you love, trust, and want to continue working with, then it’s best to check if that physician would be covered under new health insurance.
This is particularly the case when you choose an HMO plan, where it’s unlikely you’ll be covered if you visit out-of-network providers.
This is the same idea for a group (if you’re a business owner):
Take a survey of your employees before you decide – do most have a favorite doctor? Do most just care about having the cheapest plan?
Ask them what they want and need.
Here’s what you need to do:
Write down your list of favorite physicians, specialty doctors, pharmacists, or any other provider.
Then, cross-reference that list with the list of providers in the health insurance plans that you’re considering going with.
If you don’t know how to do that, feel free to give us a call and one of our representatives can help you with this step for free.
If you’re fine with any doctor, Urgent Care, or specialty doctor, then move onto the next step.
2. Determine your budget
While you want the best health insurance for you and your family, health insurance can be very expensive.
If you have a particular budget that you HAVE to stay under, then make sure to write that down.
But, you need to think about your health insurance budget a little differently then you’re thinking about right now…
It’s not just about the monthly costs. Sure, that’s important to think about, but there are potentially many more costs than just the monthly premiums.
If you’re out hiking in the mountains and hurt yourself to the point of needing surgery, then that surgery can either cost you $500 or $5,000 depending on the plan that you choose.
That’s why you need to think about your medical needs and expected medical costs.
Compare health insurance plans calculator
By requesting a quote below, you can have access to a list of health insurance plans where you can compare health insurance costs depending on deductible, premium, carrier, and more.
3. Clarify your medical needs
Your medical needs are one of the most important things when choosing a health insurance plan.
Here’s why:
If you’re totally healthy, rarely go to the doctor, and don’t foresee any upcoming procedures, tests, or appointments, then you don’t have to worry about having a low deductible.
What’s a deductible?
A deductible is what you’re responsible to pay for covered services before your health insurance plan starts to pay.
Once you reach your deductible, then you usually only have to worry about paying for a co-pay.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you have a $2,500 deductible.
And you find out you need a procedure that costs a total of $4,500 if you were to pay out-of-pocket.
Since your deductible is $2,500, you’re only responsible for covering the first $2,500. Your health insurance will pay the remainder.
Let’s say you need the same procedure that costs $4,500 but you have a deductible of $1,000. Then, you only pay the first $1,000 and your medical insurance will cover the rest.
So, if you rarely go to the doctor, then you’re fine having a higher deductible and a lower monthly premium.
Now, you might be asking:
What’s a monthly premium?
A monthly premium is the amount of money you have to pay each month in order to keep your health insurance coverage.
Usually, the higher you pay in your monthly premium, the lower the deductible.
The lower you pay for your monthly premium, then the higher the deductible.
Here’s an important thing to note about health insurance:
Thankfully, all medical insurances in the Marketplace cover preventative care like health screenings, immunizations, and more. So, you don’t have to take that into account when figuring out your medical needs.
How to compare health insurance plans spreadsheet – you don’t NEED a spreadsheet
Just follow the steps above.
If you NEED to see a certain doctor, then make sure they’re covered in your plan.
If you think you’re going to need surgery this year, or if your children play football, skateboard regularly, and also skydive on the weekend, then it might make sense for you to choose a plan with a higher monthly premium but a lower yearly deductible.
If you know that you have a particular budget that you CANNOT go over, then you may need to put more weight behind the cost of the plan.
Still confused about what to do?
If you have questions about how to choose the right health insurance for you and your family, then simply fill out this short form for a free quote and a highly trained health insurance consultant will reach out with the best options.