Definition of Comprehensive Health Insurance

Health insurance is designed to help individuals pay for medical expenses that they may not otherwise be able to afford. This makes it easier for people to get necessary treatment, especially treatment that involves expensive procedures or drugs. Health insurance works in a way that is similar to other types of insurance. The policyholder pays a premium in exchange for coverage for various health expenses. Comprehensive health insurance defines what health expenses are covered.

Definition

• Comprehensive health insurance is the most common type of health insurance available in the United States. It is called comprehensive because it covers a wide range of medical expenses without many exclusions, including doctor visits, hospital stays, surgery and rehabilitation. Policyholders pay a deductible for the expenses, and then the health insurance plan covers the rest of the expense by a certain percentage.

Variables

• Comprehensive health insurance plans vary based on how much they offer to cover, the risk of the patient and the size of the deductible. Deductibles range from several hundred dollars to several thousand before the company will begin paying the expense. Some insurers only cover 50 to 80 percent of costs, but policies pay 100 percent after the deductible, up to a specific limit.

Scheduled and Limited Benefit

• Comprehensive insurance is so widespread that policyholders rarely consider other types of coverage, but there are alternative health insurance plans. Scheduled health insurance pays a certain amount of any medical expenses per year and allows a certain number of doctor visits, with no required deductible, but after the number is maxed out the policyholder must pay all remaining costs. Limited benefit plans are like comprehensive but only affect certain conditions, such as cancer, or only allow funds to be used a specific way.

Sources

• Many people receive comprehensive health insurance plans through their employer, which includes the plan as part of employee benefits. Companies make insurance deals with the insurance companies to provide these plans to all employees. While private health insurance is also an option, these plans tend to have more limited benefits than true comprehensive health insurance.