Features of Health Plans

Features of Health Plans

The similarities and differences among the major types of health plans is with the indemnity plan, a person goes to any doctor. The plan covers the majority of services (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008).

Indemnity policies covere expenditures when they reach a certain amount per year, and the insurer will pay the normal fee in full. Physician who charge more than the normal cost, the remainder is the responsibility of the insured (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008).

A health maintenance organization combines services and the insured pays a set payment. The insured decide their care providers under the condition they are in the network. HMOs are usually inexpensive health insurance plans because they negotiate to obtain discounts (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008).

Preferred provider organization is the most popular type of insurance plan and is close to the indemnity plan. The PPO also bargains with providers for discounts. PPO charges a co-payment for doctors in the network, for those out of the network the PPO pays a certain amount. PPOs do not demand referrals to specialist. Premiums are usually lower than indemnity (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008).

A point-of-service plan combines HMOs and PPOs essentials. The deductible with this plan can be high (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008).

A consumer-driven health plan is a type of medical savings account used to pay medical bills before meeting the deductible. (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008) .

One plan offering consumers better coverage for their money is the health maintenance organization. The HMOs offer the chance to choose the doctor of choice at a bargained price (Valerius, Bayes, Newby, & Seggern, 2008).