Bonveda's Blog

Health Insurance is probably one of the most important things a person needs to have. Even if you don't use it, you need the insurance to be there for the very reason you need it: to insure that if something horrible were to happen, you are covered.

Insurance is there to cover you for the issues you don't want to worry about, such as personal or family accidents, disease or something that is unanticipated that comes up. Insurance is not an easy policy to navigate through and it's hard to know what you do and don't need. As well, on top of the hundreds of possible policies, there is concern about cost and what you can afford.

If you are looking for an individual policy, getting online and doing some research will be in your favor. You can go into Google and do a search for health insurance quotes, or online insurance quotes so you at least get a flavor (without having to initially speak with anyone) on your quotes. It would be best you didn't provide any of your personal information (contact, name, phone, email) until you are ready to be contacted.

Health Plan One is an example of a website that provides online price quotes and plan comparisons that you can choose to review multiple plans at the same time. Because Health Plan One has nationwide coverage, and because the prices won't differ if you went and shopped somewhere else, you can use a website like that as a one stop shop. If you do want to apply, Health Plan One has a customer service/agent call center that can walk you through the hardships of applying for insurance coverage. With that, they can also provide some help with the navigation of plans and choosing the right one for you!

For an individual and or family looking for insurance coverage, below are a list of priorities you want to look for and definitely cater it toward your own needs:

* Whether you want a POS (Point of Service), PPO (Preferred Provider o) or HSA (Health Savings Account)
* Annual deductible -the higher the deductible, the less the monthly premium.
* Monthly premium -what you can afford out of pocket per month.
* Out of network coverage - how much more would you have to pay out of pocket if you are out of your provider network, for example, if you are out of state and need help?
* Coinsurance - how much you pay after the insurance company pays their part.
* Primary care visits - how much you pay for doctor visits
* Specialist visits - how much you would pay if you needed to see someone out of the ordinary, like a cardiologist.
* Lab/x-ray - how much you would pay (after the insurance company provides their coverage)...note, an MRI can cost over a thousand dollars.
* Copay - what you pay any time you see someone related to health.
* Hospital visit - how much you would pay after insurance covers you. this is the most important and most expensive/least covered out of anything!
* Annual physical - a lot of times you can get a good annual physical for free. But if that doesn't happen in your area, you will need to know how much this would cost.
* Baby annual visits
* Emergency room visit- same as hospital, how much you would pay after insurance covers you. This is the most important and most expensive/least covered out of anything!
* Maternity coverage (which is rarely offered unless you are with a plan for several years)
* Prescription drugs - it's helpful also to be able to know if you can use generic prescription as that saves a lot of money.
* And possibly dental (which, honestly, there is no real good dental plan unless you work for a company and they have group coverage)...
* Important things to note before you buy or cancel:

If you do have insurance, don't cancel even if you go with another plan and put a deposit down. There is still the possibility that price or coverage could change, as all new policies have to go through the insurance companies underwriting department.

* Note that any quotes you see online are preliminary, based on certain criteria, but it is best to actually speak to an agent once you are close to making a decision. Health Plan One, as with other online quoting sites has an easy 800 line that you can call at any time.