How Does Health Insurance Work? Learn About Factors Affecting Your Premiums
The Health Care Reform Act of 2010 aims to provide each and every American with affordable, but quality health care by 2014. The individual mandate stated under the newly-overhauled health care system states that everyone should be covered by some form of insurance to facilitate easy and inexpensive accessibility to world-class health care.
If you do not know where to start, checking out life insurance rates online will be your first step towards your goal of obtaining the health insurance that you need so you can have peace of mind that your health and well being will be adequately covered during trying times. By simply typing in your zip code, you will have endless access to cheap health insurance that meets all your requirements and your needs as well.
Remember that health insurance should be at the top of your priority. Without a health insurance policy that can cover your hospital and medical bills, you will most likely end up spending your savings, which in turn can endanger your financial stability in the future. In recent years, bankruptcy due to expensive medical services has been the problem for uninsured and underinsured individuals. To avoid all these problems, obtaining an insurance coverage that understands not only your health needs, but also your financial capacity is of utmost importance.
How does health insurance work?
In exchange for health insurance, policy holders are required to pay premiums on a yearly or monthly basis. Insurance providers feature their own pool of hospitals, medical professionals, and health care institutions where policy holders can get health services at discounted price rates. Health care providers that are included in an insurance company’s booklet are deemed to deliver services at rates that were carefully specified by the health care insurance provider. Health insurance benefits cover the following services:
• Medical diagnostic exams
• Medications
• Medical treatment and surgical procedures
• Rehabilitative medicine interventions
Policy holders should also understand the fact that there are out of pocket expenses that need to be covered once seeking medical intervention from approved providers. There are limitations and exclusions in health insurance plans, thus it is imperative for policy holders to read the fine print before agreement and signing.
There are two ways on how to obtain a health insurance policy. If you are self-employed, you may want to choose a plan directly from a preferred insurance company through the expertise of health insurance agents or brokers. Majority of Americans are provided with an insurance plan through their respective jobs. Employer-sponsored programs are possible with the coordination of private companies and public office organizations with Health Maintenance Organizations or HMOs. It is the most inexpensive form of insurance, but is known to be quite effective in the provision of preventive care to health insurance policy holders.
Although insurance premiums are being paid by employers, there are additional costs which policy holders are obliged to cover as well.
• Premium
The total amount of money that a policy holder is deemed to pay on a monthly or annual basis. The premium rate is calculated by considering a host of factors such as:
• Age
• Gender
• Current health condition
• Weight or Body Mass Index
• Tobacco use
• Family History
• Nature of work or Profession
Age
• As one grows older, the rate of insurance premium increases. Younger individuals are rewarded with ultra-low premiums. Provided that these policy holders maintain outstanding health and wellness conditions, the premium of the policy will not increase substantially over those who subscribe to unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Gender
• When it comes to gender, women pay higher premiums for their health insurance policy as they visit their health care provider more often than men. Women are also found to suffer from numerous chronic diseases than men, thus they purchase prescription medication more than men. Insurance companies that offer maternity insurance also subject its female policy holders to higher premiums due to expensive labor and delivery costs which roughly amount up to $15,000 on average.
Current health condition
• Due to the Health Care Reform Law of 2010, even individuals with pre-existing medical conditions will not be denied adequate insurance coverage. However, all regulations and new policies will be enacted by 2014, thus there are still people who are being denied of insurance or who are required to pay higher premiums due to their current medical condition.
Body Mass Index
• People who have high body mass index are subjected to pay higher premiums than those with normal BMI levels. This is due to the fact that overweight or obese insurance policy holders are more prone to developing debilitating chronic diseases such as cardiovascular conditions and diabetes among others.
Tobacco Use
• Individuals who use tobacco may want to stop the unhealthy habit if they are looking to lower their monthly insurance premium payments. This is due to the fact that insurance providers view smokers as high risk policy holders. Although a large majority of smokers still get insured, their premiums are relatively more expensive as they are more likely to develop respiratory diseases and deadly medical conditions such as throat and lung cancer.
Family History
• Illnesses the runin the family greatly affects the amount of insurance premium that a policy holder needs to make on a monthly or annual basis. For instance, a policy holder with a history of diabetes will be deemed to pay higher premiums than those whose family history are generally clear of medical condition occurrence.
Nature of Work
• Individuals who work with dangerous chemicals and those who are tasked to perform duties under hazardous conditions are more likely to develop industrial diseases. Individuals with sedentary jobs have lower insurance premiums than workers in the field such as drivers and miners.
Now that you basic understanding of how health insurance premiums are calculated, it is now time for you to get an accurate computation for your individual health insurance plan. Type in your residential zip code, and in seconds, the screen will display all major health insurance companies that offer their services in your state, city, and town. Knowing that you have a wide variety of options will certainly help you in increasing your health and well being through inexpensive, but high-quality health care.