Health Insurance Made Simple
Monday, August 25th, 2008The United States is the only industrial nation not to have some sort of national health insurance program. To many people, the very notion of such a system smacks of “Socialized Medicine”, and those are the words of death when it comes to talk of health care. However, this system leaves us in need of affordable health insurance, so that if we need medical care, we can pay for it.
In a private enterprise-style system, health insurance companies strive to keep costs down by limiting what they pay to the doctors, what they pay for tests, and how much they give out for prescriptions. Also, there is the issue of high-risk and/or experimental procedures. Most Florida health insurance companies and those in other parts of the country will not pay for such things. So, while health care might be great so long as you can find affordable health insurance, if you can’t, you are dependent on government programs and/or charities.
In the United States today, there are essentially three types of health insurance. The kind you get depends on what is affordable health insurance for you, and what you feel you need. So, let’s look at the variety of affordable Florida health insurance available to you, which you should also be able to seek out across the country.
HMO health insurance
First, there is the cheapest, most easily affordable health insurance, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). With this health insurance system, you get a variety of medical benefits for a pre-determined charge. In most instances, you have no deductible, but you do have to pay a small fee for each doctor’s visit. This is the case for this quite affordable Florida health insurance anyway. Also, you need to select a primary doctor, and you are limited in your choice to a listing provided by the HMO. After that, you go to that doctor for everything. Any medical matter is routed through him/her. Once they see you, they will decide if they can handle your problem, or if they will refer you to another physician within the HMO health insurance network. One very critical aspect of an HMO health insurance program is that they don’t pay for any visit to any doctor who is outside of their network, except for some emergency care.
PPO health insurance
Next there is the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), through which you can get Florida health insurance and health insurance for other parts of the USA. This has much more flexibility than the HMO. In a PPO, the health insurance company gives you a list of doctors, specialist etc. and you pick and choose who you want to see, and when. Here again, every visit has a co-pay, and you often have a deductible that you have to pay off each year. How big a co-pay, and how much you pay at each visit, are a function of the level of health insurance service you buy. The higher monthly health insurance premiums you pay, the lower your co-pay and deductible are. Also, with PPO health insurance, you can visit doctors outside of the network, and the health insurance company will still pay for all or part of your bill.
POS health insurance
Finally, there is the Point of Service health insurance (POS). Some people call it a cross between the other two kinds of health insurance. That is because, like an HMO, you have a primary doctor who handles all of your health care. You go to him/her, and (if necessary) they refer you to another doctor. However, if you elect to visit a physician who is outside the network, the health insurance company will pay a part of your bill, but not as much as to a doctor in the network. Usually, they have a standard amount that they pay, and then you are responsible for the rest. In terms of affordable health insurance premiums, the POS falls between the HMO and PPO, which makes sense, as it is a bit of a hybrid of the two.
All these types of health insurance are available in Florida and across the USA.
















