The medical and legal jargon of Health Insurance suits only those who make a living selling Plans: it confuses most customers and leaves them wondering if they and their children will have adequate coverage during the coming year! Most of us wait until nearly the end of annual open enrollment to make hurried and sometimes ill-advised decisions on the vital matter of Health Insurance.
An easy approach to a complex matter
Here is a simple 5-step approach to making the right decision for Health Insurance to protect yourself and your loved ones:
1. Start by selecting a Primary Care Physician who can manage all your Health concerns. A family doctor of long standing could be a good choice, but ask around for a professional of good standing if you have just moved to a new neighborhood. It helps if the doctor responsible for your health and that of your family has a wide network of specialists, and a member of an HMO or Health Maintenance Organization. You would have to pay a higher premium if you choose a Primary Care Physician in a PPO or Preferred Provider Organization. Do look for a doctor who has the time and who is willing to make an effort to let you participate in treatment decisions. A busy and rude doctor who writes prescriptions with little time and patience to explain matters to you, could leave you worried and humiliated after a consultation.
2. Make a thorough assessment of each member of your family who has to be covered by a Health Insurance Plan. Think through if you plan to marry or to expand your family during the coming year. You do not want the joys of a pregnancy to be marred by medical expenses that a plan that does not cover. Consider you family history and prepare for the worst, though no one wishes you ill: Type II diabetes, hypertension and certain gynecological cancers have habits of preying on certain families. These conditions are all expensive to manage. Your chosen plan should provide for full coverage if an inherited condition were to stop by at your home. You should be financially prepared for medical consequences of bad eating habits, taking nicotine or drugs in any form, drinking too much and inadequate exercise. The doctor who has looked after you during the past year would be best suited to serve as devil’s advocate and list some illnesses to which you may be vulnerable.