Types of Health Insurance

George Smith, a Houston based banker, bought health insurance for himself and his family by finding the best health insurance quotes at ‘HoustonQuote'.

Types of Health Insurance
Basically there are two types of health insurance. If you wish to see certain doctors or require the care of specialists, then, the fee-for-service insurance or indemnity will suit your requirements. While the managed care type of health insurance provides you a network of doctors that you can visit and provides preventive care and regular check-ups.

Fee-For-Service: In such health insurance you can see a doctor of your choice and you will foot a share of the medical expenses. You would have to keep the medical bills and these will be reimbursed later on by the insurance company. This is more expensive than the managed care health insurance.

Managed Care: Managed care health insurance offers you a network of doctors that you can visit and is much cheaper than indemnity. You also don't have to bother with saving medical bills, unless you go out of the network. Since patients have regular check ups, preventive care helps maintain a high degree of wellness amongst patients. There are three types of managed care programs that you can choose from according to your budget and needs:
• Preferred Provider Organizations or PPOs offers their policyholders a financial incentive to stay within the network of provided doctors. Within the network you can visit a specialist without getting prior approval. If you go beyond this network you would have to pay the bills yourself and then submit them to the insurance company for reimbursement. Also some PPOs charge deductibles if you go out of the network.
• Point of Service or POS offer features similar to PPOs but also have a Primary Care Physician or PCP. When you require a specialist your PCP would have to refer you to one inside the network. If you go outside the network the medical bills reimbursed by the insurance company would be far less.
• Health Maintenance Organizations or HMOs offer a fairly inflexible health plan wherein you can only see the doctors in the network. The cost of such a plan is the least and there is very little paperwork. This is ideal for group plans offered by employers.
There are number of insurance companies in the market and it is vital that you consider a few local Houston quotes before you buy health insurance.

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