Health insurance helps provide coverage for medical expenses that people could not otherwise afford. There are many different types of health insurance that private insurers offer to increase their customer base. Most of these policies follow the same basic pattern: individuals and families pay a monthly premium based on their risk of medical complications, the deductibles they have agreed to pay, and how much their coverage with pay. Different policies may benefits individuals or families more based on the situation.
Employment Benefits
Employment benefits are received by working at a job where an employer offers health insurance as part of normal compensation. This has several advantages for an individual employed at the company. First, this group insurance can have low premiums, and the individual does not need to worry about paying them since they are automatically deducted from their paychecks. There are also many group insurance options that companies can choose from, including traditional options, PPOs and HMOs. Some options may give the individual a choice to create a health savings account or make other decisions about the type of coverage they want.
Dependent Coverage
If an individual wants coverage for a family, it may be best to have only one type of group insurance for the entire family. Many group insurance plans offer to cover spouses and dependents (children) for free or for reduced rates. This makes it easy to give health insurance to an entire family while saving money. Two types of group insurance functioning at the same time will probably not actually increase coverage–insurance companies have regulations that do not allow any overlap between two different types of health insurance.
Private Insurance
Private insurance is a type of personal health insurance that individuals can buy directly from an insurer instead of going through a company. This also offers advantages–individuals may not be able to get health insurance otherwise if they are self-employed or unemployed. These plans are more customizable than other options, allowing individuals to opt for lower premiums. Private health insurance only covers one person, so this is a better option for singles or individuals who only need to cover themselves.
Student Health Insurance
Student health insurance is ideal for individuals that are going through higher education at a university but still need health insurance. At this point, students may be leaving their parent’s plans but have no health insurance of their own. Student health insurance may be offered by insurance companies or found through the university.
Temporary Coverage
Temporary coverage is good for individuals or families that have lost group insurance due to the loss of a job but expect to get new group insurance with a new job inside of a year. Temporary coverage plans are designed to fill in these gaps when transitioning between jobs.