According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 255 million people in the U.S. had health insurance in 2008. Health care coverage is insurance that pays for medical expenses due to accidents or illness, regardless of fault. It provides financial protection against some or all medical costs that arise. A health insurance policy will pay out a predetermined amount of money for treatments and other medically related costs. There are a number of different policies that offer varied approaches to health care coverage.
Uninsured
According to the Census Bureau, the number of people in the U.S. without health insurance stood at 46.3 million in 2008. That's up from 45.7 million during the previous year. There were 7.3 million children under age 18 who were uninsured in 2008. Children who lived in poverty were most apt to be uninsured.
Types
According to the Insurance Information Institute (AIII), the primary types of health insurance plans are indemnity and managed care. The kind of plan you select will depend on the unique health care needs of you and your family.
Indemnity Plans
The AIII says indemnity plans include employer-sponsored health care insurance that allow the employee to customize his own benefits package. This is referred to as a cafeteria or flexible spending plan. An indemnity plan allows you to see the health care provider of your choice for a predetermined monthly premium. Depending on the plan, there may be a deductible, but there is typically a preset limit on out-of-pocket expenses.
Basic and High Deductible Plans
A basic or essential health care plan provides lower cost coverage, but is limited and may not pay for such basic treatments as maternity care and chemotherapy. Because premiums are community rated depending on where you live, your age, gender, occupation and health status, rates can vary considerably.
High-Deductible Health Plans are often called catastrophic health insurance coverage. This inexpensive health insurance plan only provides coverage after a high deductible ($1,000 to $2,000) is met.
Managed Care HMO
When you sign on with a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), you select a primary care doctor from a list of participating physicians in the HMO network. In general, there are fewer out-out-pocket expenses, but there is often a co-payment fee for doctor visits or prescriptions.
Managed Care PPO
Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) charge its members on a fee-for-service basis. Because participating doctors and health care providers are paid on a discounted fee schedule, your health care costs are lower if you use in-network services. While you have the choice of seeking health care out of the network, you will most likely be required to pay the difference between the provider's fee and what the plan is willing to pay.
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