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SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Health Insurance
Health
Insurance and Discount Plans
A woman from Las Vegas thought she was buying
health insurance. It looked and sounded like health insurance.
The Las Vegas woman is not 65 yet, which means she can't get
Medicare. So, she went online looking for health insurance.
She ended up finding something called Healthcare Advantage,
and signed up after paying $100. Come to find out, this was
not medical insurance at all and the sales representative never
told this poor lady. She found that out when her cards arrived
in the mail. In tiny writing at the bottom, it read, “not an
HMO, PPO insurance or managed care company”. This was a discount
plan. These plans do not have the same coverage as a full medical
health insurance policy. Make sure you know what you are getting
and if it fits your needs.
So
what is a discount plan? The plans claims to save people
money by offering discounts on physician visits, prescription
drugs, dental work, eye care and other treatments for a monthly
fee. Unlike normal health insurance, which is very costly and
very selective about who it covers, a discount health plan
accepts everyone, no matter what health conditions they may
have. You will use a list of doctors that are willing to charge
discounted rates to the subscriber. Discount is not the same
as coverage, and so you will pay more for visits and other
services that you wouldn’t with a regular medical plan. The
average savings is only 25% that could be very expensive if
you have to see a specialist or require surgery. These networks
claim to have as many as 400,000 doctors and 50,000 hospitals
available to choose from, but what if none of them are near
you? You can get a savings of up to 30% on both generic and
brand name drugs, which can also be costly if you have multiple
prescriptions or they are costly ones. So if you have a health
plan already but have a high deductible, this extra plan may
help save you some money. But to use as a complete health plan,
it really isn’t designed for that and will cost you more than
a great HMO.
HMOs
and other medical plans can offer full medical coverage
at great rates. Managed care plans are the way to go for those
who are limited on funds. They offer the best policies for
the least amount of money. Most of these plans are available
to anyone and can save you a ton of cash. You can make the
plan even more affordable by asking for a deductible, which
will lower your monthly expense. Most HMO’s do not have one
at all but, you can request one, and most basic PPOs and POS
only have a small one, usually $200 to $500 per year, which
you can also asked to raised. The co-pays are also very reasonable
with these types of plans. If you choose to purchase an HMO,
expect to pay about $5-$10 per office visit and per prescription.
With PPOs and POSs you will have a 20% co-pay with both visits
and medications. The differences are how strict they are and
you pay more of a co-pay to have extra flexibility. Usually
a PPO or POS plan is less expensive and you have more freedom
to see whom you want so the insurer makes you more responsible
for payment. HMOs tend to be the least expensive and best policies
for people with fixed incomes.
Make
sure you know what your needs are and double-check what
you are getting. If you need full medical coverage with low
co-pay then a discount plan will not work for you. If you are
already covered by a medical group but have a large deductible
then you might benefit from the extra savings a discount plan
can offer. Also, ask whether the plan is insurance that covers
your treatment, or is a discount plan that still requires you
to pay all medical bills yourself. Beware of slippery sales
pitches. Make sure you know what's being offered. Discount
health plans may only sell you access to a large mailing list
of medical providers that it purchased commercially. Don't
assume you're getting access to a large provider network just
because your discount card displays the network's name and
logo. If you plan to use a specific listed doctor, hospital,
pharmacy or other provider, ask a few questions before you
sign up. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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