Compare Individual Health Care Plans

If you do not have health insurance from your employer, you will likely pay more for your individual health insurance coverage because they are medically underwritten, meaning that the amount you pay depends in part on how healthy you are. Older individuals will have to pay higher premiums each month than younger people. Take time to weigh each option available to you as you compare health insurance plans. No two plans are created equally. Find one that meets your needs and that you can afford.

Instructions

• 1

  Ask whether the plans are health maintenance organizations or preferred provider organizations. HMOs have a network of doctors that you must choose from, whereas PPOs allow you to choose a doctor (for a higher fee) outside the network. You may want to get a PPO if you have a doctor that you like who is not in an HMO network.

• 2

  Check if the plan offers good specialist coverage. Specialists may be important to your family if you regularly see one. Some plans do not provide as much coverage as others for visits to specialist offices. Find out if the plan offers access to other specialists like chiropractors or midwives.

• 3

  Compare how much you will pay each month with how much you will pay in out-of-pocket costs for each plan. If you're young and healthy, it may be worth your money to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits in exchange for lower monthly premiums. On the other hand, if your family members visit the doctor regularly, comprehensive coverage that offers higher monthly premiums and fewer out-of-pocket expenses may be best.

• 4

  Compare emergency care coverage in each plan. Health insurance policies vary in how much emergency coverage they offer, which hospitals you can go to, and what is actually considered to be an emergency (you thinking you need to go to the emergency room versus a doctor actually diagnosing your situation as being an emergency).

• 5

  Check how much you will be required to pay annually on each plan as well as what services apply toward your deductible. Ask if there is a yearly or lifetime limit to what each plan will pay for.

• 6

  Check the prescription coverage on each plan. Ask if they offer coverage for generic medications, if any prescription you regularly need is covered, and what copay or percentage of drug cost you will have to pay for yourself.