Thanks to rising medical costs, health insurance rates are at an all-time high. But there are places where you can get cheap health insurance in Ohio.
The first thing you need to look at when considering health insurance in Ohio are the types of insurance that are available. There are four basic plans:
1. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) – These plans set you up with a network of doctors and hospitals who provide your health care. You must choose a primary health care physician who oversees your care and refers you to specialists, and you are only allowed to see physicians within your network.
HMOs are the cheapest of all the health care plans. They have low co-payments, usually $5 to $10 per doctor visit, and involve the least amount of paperwork.
2. Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) – Similar to HMOs, these plans set you up with a network of health care providers, but unlike HMOs you may see specialists within the network without getting permission from your primary care physician. If you see a non-network physician you may have to pay the bill yourself and submit it for reimbursement.
PPOs cost slightly more than HMOs, and co-payments average $5 to $10 per doctor visit.
3. Point of Service Plans (POSs) – These plans also set you up with a network of health care providers, but, for an additional fee, you may see a physician who is not part of the network.
POSs generally cost more than PPOs but are more flexible. Co-payments average $5 to $10 per visit.
4. Indemnity Plans – These plans let you choose your own doctor and hospital, and you can visit any specialist you choose. You pay a deductible, usually $500 to $1,000, before your insurance company will begin paying claims. After you pay your deductible, your company will pay most of your medical bill, usually 80%, and you pay the remaining 20%.
Indemnity Plans are the most expensive health care plans and involve the most amount of paperwork.
Low Cost Health Insurance in Ohio
In order to get the best rate on your health insurance policy you need to compare rates from different companies. The fastest way to do this is to visit an insurance comparison website where you’ll not only get multiple rate quotes, you’ll also be able to get advice from insurance experts who can help you find the best policy for your needs. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s free.
By: Brian Stevens
Posts Tagged ‘Primary Care’
Where to Get Low Cost Health Insurance in Ohio
April 7th, 2010Medical Health Insurance
April 1st, 2010
Choosing Health Insurance Policies
When it comes to health insurance, women have special needs. There are so many different health issues that women go through that it is important to find health insurance to cover all of them.
The first thing to look at is what your company offers. There are so many different options, but the two most common are fee-for-service and managed care. Find out which one is offered to you, and go from there. Different plans can have different providers and services, cost and quality of care.
* Fee-for-Service – In this plan, you go to the doctor of your choice, and they send a bill to the insurance company. You get billed for the rest. Usually, there is a flat fee per year that you must pay before the insurance company will start to cover expenses.
* Managed Care – This is the most common type of plan, and it is broken down into several different categories; Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and Point of Service (POS). With HMOs, as long as you use a doctor or hospital in your network, your out of pocket costs should be minimal. With a PPO, although you might have a larger network from which to choose your doctor, your premium will be higher. With a POS, your plan is similar to a PPO, but your care will be managed by your Primary Care Physician.
Which one you pick will depend upon your health circumstances. For example, if you are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, you might want to pick a health plan that covers pregnancy, to keep your out of pocket costs down. If you have cancer, you will want to pick one that has good doctors and hospitals in the network. Also, if you already have a doctor whom you love, you might want to make sure that you will be able to see them still with the new health insurance policy that you pick.
There are even a number of government-run resources for women without health insurance. There are community health centers, public hospitals, school-based center, public housing primary care centers, migrant health centers and special needs facilities. Other government sponsored programs include:
* Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, & Children (WIC).
* National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP).
* Maternal and Child Health Services.
* Indian Health Service (IHS).
* Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH).
One of the most difficult situations for women is when they make too much money for public government assistance, but not enough to pay for medical care or health insurance. In this case, they might be able to find temporary insurance through their state, or a low-cost health insurance option through a labor union, professional clubs or organization. There are also free clinics and prescription drug assistance. Women who are coping with cancer can find many government sponsored and volunteer organization, and the Ryan White CARE Act gives aid to women with HIV/AIDS who have little or no insurance, and a limited income.
By: Ryan Baba
A Traditional Indemnity Health Insurance Plan Or A Managed Care Plan?
March 20th, 2010
For many years people felt that they were trapped between a traditional indemnity health insurance plan (a wide range of choice and high degree of security in the event of serious accident or illness which came at a high cost) and a managed care plan (a focus on preventative medicine at relatively low cost but with severely limited choice).
Today however it is possible to some extent to enjoy the benefits of both traditional indemnity insurance and managed health care through a variation on the original Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) model known as a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).
A PPO is essentially an HMO which means that the insurance company will establish a network of healthcare providers and, in exchange for a relatively low cost, will encourage, or in some cases require, policyholders to seek treatment within the HMO’s network. Where treatment is taken outside of the HMO’s network much, if not all, of the cost of such treatment normally has to be borne by the policyholder. However, in the case of a PPO, the rules for policyholders who wish to seek care outside of the HMO’s network are relaxed.
Within an HMO a policyholder is assigned to a particular doctor or primary care physician (often referred to as a “gatekeeper”) and the policyholder must go through the primary care physician in order to receive treatment. If, for example, the policyholder wishes to see a specialist then he or she will have to be referred by the primary care physician and may or may not have a say in which particular specialist they are referred to.
In a PPO however no primary care physician is assigned and so no referral is required. Policyholders are free therefore should they choose to do so to seek treatment through a specialist who is not a member of the HMO’s network.
There are of course cost implications to this choice and policyholders will almost certainly have to pay more for treatment with a doctor or in a facility that is outside of the HMO’s network than they would if they sought treatment within the network. Nevertheless, unlike the HMO model, the PPO gives the policyholder the choice.
If you like, a PPO provides policyholders with the low cost managed health benefits of the HMO with the option to elect for the greater choice, albeit higher cost, of indemnity insurance when it suits their needs.
It will probably come as no surprise to find that today traditional indemnity policies are fast disappearing and that there are now twice as many people enrolled in PPOs as there are in HMOs.
By: Donald Saunders
