Individual health insurance
[The first consideration in individual health insurance is what you can qualify for. In most states, individual health insurance applications can be declined because of certain prior medical treatment or pre-existing conditions. Additionally, individual health insurance may also have exclusion riders included which exclude coverage for specific pre-existing conditions of the applicant.]
4. What Is Most Important to Me in a Plan?
In choosing a plan, you have to decide what is most important to you. All plans have tradeoffs. Ask yourself these questions:
- How comprehensive do I want coverage of health care services to be?
- How do I feel about limits on my choice of doctors or hospitals?
- How do I feel about a primary care doctor referring me to specialists for additional care?
- How convenient does my care need to be?
- How important is the cost of services?
- How much am I willing to spend on premiums and other health care costs?
- How do I feel about keeping receipts and filing claims?
You might also want to think about whether the services a plan offers meet your needs. Call the plan for details about coverage if you have questions. Consider:
- Life changes you may be thinking about, such as starting a family or retiring.
- Chronic health conditions or disabilities that you or family members have.
- If you or anyone in your family will need care for the elderly.
- Care for family members who travel a lot, attend college, or spend time at two homes.
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[There may be specific coverages that are most on your mind when looking at individual health insurance because a family member or acquaintance needed that treatment. However, even if there are no particular coverage issues of concern, it is still important to ensure that the individual health insurance that you select is sufficiently comprehensive. Some insurers cut out or limit certain coverages so as to reduce the monthly individual health insurance premium. Individual health insurance may be a disappointment if it does not properly cover what unexpectedly happens.