The world of health insurance plans is filled with unfamiliar terms for people looking to get a new policy or renew an old one. Terms like “caregiver choice,” “caps” and “drug coverage” may give you pause and not help much when it comes to helping you make the decisions you need to make to protect yourself and your family from high medical treatment and drug costs. Here are a few ways that you can make the best choice of the health plan you get.
-
- Weigh the plan’s flexibility. If you or someone in your family has diabetes, or another chronic condition, you may want a POS (point-of-service) plan or one offered by a preferred provider organization (PPO). Both of these health plans generally offer unrestricted access to specialists.
- Check the network of the provider. Make sure that the doctors you use are covered within the network offered by the health plan you’re looking at. If they’re not listed, it may be hard to have your doctor visits covered under the plan provided.
- Keep an eye on the maximums. While many healthcare plans point out the out-of-pocket figures, members may still find that they’re on the hook for thousands of dollars in drug costs before full coverage under the plan kicks in. Many plans also have annual limits on the number of visits to specialists such as physical therapists or for special medications.A recent study found that one quarter of all adults insured under a healthcare plan still face steep costs because of limitations of coverage imposed by their healthcare providers.
- Review the medications you need. There are usually generic drugs available to cover many medical conditions and this can end up saving your healthcare provider – and you – a great deal of money every month. You can also look into buying your drugs through mail-order from pharmacies in Canada, which charge much lower costs for prescription medicines than their American counterparts.
Loading ...