What’s taking you so long in signing up for family health insurance?
We know that your family’s protection is your priority and one way to protect them is to safeguard their health by finding beneficial family health insurance for them. You may worry about several things especially the cost of health insurance plans for family. But take note that there are other things aside from it that you must consider.
Here are the key things you and your family should know:
1. Determine your needs. Purchasing health insurance is a financial commitment. It can mean paying for more than you need or paying more for what you need if you do not select appropriate coverage. Answer these questions and see what family health insurance is right for you and your family:
• How long will you need coverage?
For example, if you are newly self-employed, you will want to look into an individual medical plan. However, you might consider a short-term medical plan if you recently lost your job. This is also best if you are in some other temporary situation without insurance and need coverage to get you through the gap.
• How do you use health insurance?
Do you typically see the doctor for preventive care visits and rely on insurance for the unexpected? Or do you visit the doctor several times a year? Consider the medical needs and expenses for every person in your family throughout recent years. List any ongoing medical conditions, surgeries, hospital stays, medications, etc.
• Do you anticipate a change in medical needs?
If you are planning to have a baby or foresee using health insurance more or less than you have in the past, take that into consideration as well. Are there hereditary health conditions in your family that you risk developing at this point in your life? That is also something to consider.
• Do you need extra protection?
Would an ancillary plan that pays lump-sum benefits for hospital stays, surgery, and major illnesses, such as limited medical or critical illness coverage help you save money?
2. Know your budget. Picture this – What can you afford to spend on a family health insurance plan? Consider premium, copay, coinsurance, prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, services not covered by insurance and any other out-of-pocket medical expenses. Also factor in dental and vision coverage, as well as any ancillary coverage such as critical illness. Knowing how much you can spend will be important when obtaining online health insurance quotes and comparing plans.
3. Gather information and health history. At a minimum, you will need to have the birth dates, addresses, and coverage start dates of everyone on the health insurance policy you apply for. A limited medical insurance plan will likely be guaranteed issue, which means no underwriting and instant approval. Individual major medical, on the other hand, will require health histories for each applicant in addition to a certificate of coverage from the previous carrier. You will need to provide information such as:
• Surgeries and hospitalizations, including dates they took place
• Medical conditions such as asthma, heart disease, allergies, diabetes, etc.
• Prescription drugs taken in recent years, including start/end dates and dosage
• Doctor visits in recent years, including dates and reasons seen
• Irregular test results
• Family medical history, including cause of death for deceased family members
• Have this information ready so you can sit down and complete the application without disruption.
4. Are your current doctors in your network? If you already have a family doctor or are seeing a specialist that you’d like to continue seeing, then make sure that the plans you are considering include your doctor in their network. While it is still possible to see a doctor outside of your insurer’s network in most cases, it will typically cost you more than a doctor who is not in your network.
5. Will your prescriptions be covered? If you are currently taking prescription medication, you’ll want to be sure that any family healthcare plan you consider will cover your prescriptions. All health insurance providers include a list of covered medications in their policy documents. Take time to comb through this and make sure that your medication is covered and that the co-pay is affordable.
6. Is the deductible high or low? High deductibles tend to work better for individuals than families and, even then, are better suited to the young and healthy. Since family healthcare plans include multiple people, the odds of someone needing to go to the hospital or see a doctor are considerably higher. If these visits happen frequently or more than one person in your family gets sick or injured at the same year, costs can run high very quickly. Since the deductible is the amount you have to pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in, you need to know how much you can afford to pay on your own. Though they will cost more overall, a lower deductible plan is often a good idea for a family healthcare plan.
Our tip for you:
Don’t just compare premiums. Everything from prescription drug coverage to the size of your insurer’s network affects the quality of coverage you’re paying for. Don’t just look at the cost of your monthly premium, consider the benefits and shortcomings of different family health insurance plans to determine what works best for you and your family.
Wanted to secure health of your family now?
Health Plans in Oregon – your health insurance broker, will help you find affordable family health insurance products, life insurance, short term and all other individual and family insurance needs. Call us now, 503-928-6918
Also see:
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