Medical Insurance is a vital sector pertaining to the protection of people from extremely high health care costs. In a scenario where the hospitalization bills hit the roof, the only alternative for the common man is to get insured.
Health insurance can be classified into two different types based on the funding. One is funded by the Tax-payer and the other is insurance funded by the private sector. In this article, we are going to concentrate on the second type and also compare Medicare advantage Plans 2021.
People have many choices when it comes to choosing a privately funded insurance plan. There are different plans and they are based on the benefits offered. They are named after the four metals platinum, gold, silver and bronze
Platinum plans provide for 90% of your hospitalization charges and you have to pay only10%. Gold plans cover 80% of the health bills, with the balance 20% met by you.
Silver plans cover 70% of the medical bills with the balance 30% paid by you. With the Bronze plans, you have to pay 40% with the rest covered by the plan.
The Plans
There are 4 common types of plans and they all have different benefits and the basic structure differ from plan to plan. In one plan the services are managed by a network of health care professionals and facilities. This offers less freedom to choose your plan but takes less paperwork. A doctor is on call to take care and to direct you to a specialist if needed. The plan needs a referral
In a second plan, you are linked to a network of Healthcare professionals, hospitals, and others who would charge less for the services provided. No referral is required.
Another is a combination of plans where you may have to select a primary health care professional but with the need to get a referral to consult a specialist. You are permitted your choice of the doctor or hospital. However, you may have to pay extra.
The fourth plan works on premium that has to be paid on a monthly basis. In this the amount that you have to pay initially before the plan pays for the services is rather high. Interestingly, if you have an employer based health insurance policy, you can combine it with other savings or reimbursement accounts.
These are well designed plans catering to a large section of the society.