SOME TIPS ON HEALTH INSURANCE PACKAGES:
Healthcare packages generally fall into one of three categories:
(1) Traditional fee-for-service health insurance plans. These are usually the most expensive of choices, but they offer the most flexibility.
(2) Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) have lower co-payments and they cover the costs of more preventive care. With HMOs your choice of providers is limted. The National committtee for Quality Assurance evaluates and accredits HMOs.
(3) Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) offer lower co-payments like HMOs but also have flexibility with your selection of providers. A PPO gives you a list of providers from which you can choose.
Choosing between health plans is more complicated and not as easy as it once was. Although there is probably no "best of all" plans, there are some plans that are specifically taylored to your specific needs. As time has passed, the distinctions between these kind of plans have begun to blur and become more and more complicated as companies compete for your business.
If you are self-employed, or your company does not offer group policies, you may need to buy individual health insurance. In that case, it is most often advisable to talk with an agent because of the myriad of choices and decisions - and you don't have company personnel helping to guide you and explaining their outline of a specific choice of health care plans.
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