Private health insurance companies

The cost of health care in the United States can be extremely expensive. For this reason we have companies that provide Private Health Insurance. This will cover you for all forms of health insurance that is not government funded and also protect you against the rising costs of health care. It is estimated that 239 million Americans are covered by Private Health Insurance plans, and approximately 90% are enrolled in a company policy by their employers.

This type of health insurance plan is available to both individuals and groups. You will find that the majority of large corporations and employers have enrolled their employees into a group scheme. A group policy will usually be far less expensive than an individual policy and will not contain as many restrictions. Most companies offer several different types of Private Health Insurance.

Indemnity Plans – This is the most expensive form of Private Health Insurance. As a beneficiary of an indemnity plan, you are able to choose any hospital or individual physician from whom you would like medical care. Prior to a claim, you will be required to satisfy a deductible or excess payment, which in most cases is 10%-30% of the overall charges. The remainder of your bill will be met by your insurance policy.

Preferred Provider Organization Plans (PPO) – This plan is fairly similar to an Indemnity Plan as you will, once again, be required to provide a deductible or excess prior to having your claim satisfied. However a PPO will offer you a list of hospitals and physicians from which you must choose to receive medical and health care. This will actually make a PPO plan less expensive than an Indemnity Plan as the health providers will often participate in these plans with vastly reduced fees. However, you are able to propose your own physician for membership into the plan and this will allow you continuity of your heath care services.

Healthcare Maintenance Organization Plans (HMO)
– An HMO differs from both the above mentioned policies as there is no deductible or excess to pay. As a beneficiary you will be charged a nominal fee on a “per visit” basis. This will generally be in the region of $5-$10. You will be provided with a list of physicians and hospitals to choose from and once selected, they will be completely responsible for all your healthcare needs. Should you need to be referred to a specialist, this must be primarily authorized by your chosen health care provider. Once again, as you have a dedicated list of health care providers to choose from, this will dramatically reduce the costs of this insurance.

Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) – Long Term Care Insurance can be extremely expensive as it is intended to cover the costs of nursing and custodial home care. The premiums will take a large percentage of any individual’s monthly income and LTC should not be considered if you believe it will cause you financial hardship in the long run.

Medical Savings Accounts (MSA’s) – Although Medical Savings Accounts are not strictly a form of Private Health Insurance, they are an invaluable resource for self-employed individuals. Should you run your own business or work on a self-employed basis, medical and health care fees can have a crippling effect. An MSA combined with a qualified private health plan will allow you to deduct medical expenses from your itemized deductions on a 1040 tax form. As long as the expenses exceed 7.5% of your gross income, you will benefit financially when you most need it.

The total amount of money spent on health care over the last 30 years in the United States has increased ten-fold. However, Private Health Insurance and the companies who provide this cover are an integral part of our daily lives.

Last updated on Nov 14th, 2010 and filed under Health Insurance. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed