Comparison shopping for health insurance plans can save you hundreds of dollars a year in premiums. Here’s how to compare health insurance plans to get the best rate.
Health Insurance Plans
There are a number of health insurance plans being marketed today. The most popular plans include:
Fee-for-service plans – Also known as indemnity plans, these plans pay for your doctor visits, hospital expenses, physical therapy, and prescription drugs. With these plans you may use the doctors and hospitals of your choice. They are losing in popularity primarily because they are so expensive.
Managed health care plans (HMOs, PPOs, POSs) – These plans also pay for your doctor visits, hospital expenses, physical therapy, and prescription drugs. With these plans you’re assigned to a health care network of doctors and hospitals that you use for your medical needs. They are more popular and less expensive than fee-for-service plans.
Major medical plans – These plans, also known as catastrophic health insurance plans, only cover doctor and hospital fees for major illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and strokes. Because these plans are limited as to what they cover, they are usually cheaper than managed health care plans and fee-for-service plans.
Where to Compare Health Insurance Plans
It used to be that in order to compare health insurance plans you had to spend hours of your time visiting or calling your local insurance companies. Then along came the Internet and you could get rates online from individual insurance company websites. But that was still time consuming as you had to go from site to site and fill out form after form to get enough quotes to compare.
Now there are insurance comparison websites where you can get health insurance rate quotes from multiple insurance companies, all in one place, by filling out one simple form. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it doesn’t cost a thing.
On the best of these comparison sites you can view articles that explain how to save money on your insurance, plus talk online with an insurance expert to get advice and get answers to your questions (see link below).
