What You Need to Know When Shopping for Health Insurance

Money can't buy health, but it can certainly make it easier to stay healthy. As a single parent, for the sake of your children, and yourself, you need to stay healthy.  Moreover, if you have been sick or injured you know that it's important to have the right kind of health insurance at the right price. To get to this point, you need to ask the right questions and get the right answers. There is a lot to learn when shopping for health insurance and you need the coverage clearly explained to you.

Health insurance coverage refers to a collection of insurance policies and government programs which pays for a range of costs from doctors and hospitals to more specific needs, such as for long-term care or disability expenses.

This type of policy doesn't just cover medical expenses, it can also provide payment of benefits for the loss of income and or the medical expenses arising from illness or injury. Consequently, you may find health insurance under another name such as Accident and Health insurance. The different kinds of policies vary according to the methods of underwriting, the type of insurers, types of benefits and services provided, types of losses covered, and amount of benefits available.

So, what about health insurance. In choosing the right type of policy for yourself, begin with knowing some of the key common terminology. Here are three terms and their definitions:

Benefit Period - the benefit period defines the period during which the insured is eligible for benefits. Usually a 90 day benefit starts with each illness and commences the day the insured is admitted to a hospital and ends when the insured has not been hospitalized for a period of 60 consecutive days.

Co-insurance - the co-insurance is the cost percentage of the medical bills the insured is expected to pay. Co-insurance usually constitutes a fixed percentage of the total cost of your medical covers covered by the plan. If a health plan pays 80% every doctor's bill, the remaining 20% is co-insurance.

Deductible - the deductible is the sum of money you must pay out-of-pocket before a health care plan reimburses a percentage of additional covered medical expenses.

Elimination Period - the elimination period means the period of time, usually is expressed in days or months, at the beginning of the confinement in a long-term care facility, during which no benefits are payable.

After making yourself familiar with some of the basic terminology, consider how you will use your policy. If you practice good health principles - eating healthy, finding time for exercising, managing stress effectively, and getting proper rest - you may properly choose a health care policy with a high deductible and a large co-insurance feature to save money. You will pay more out-of-pocket for an annual checkup and tests, but you need health insurance and will save money in the long run.

Also when shopping for health insurance, consider buying Accident and Critical Illness Insurance. The premiums for these plans are low and will compensate for the high deductible and co-insurance you may have chosen and also give you the protection you need if a catastrophic event occurs.

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