What Are Your Health Insurance Plan Options

What Are Your Health Insurance Plan Options by Cheyenne Leslie

Many people do not realize or appreciate just how important their health is until it is too late. Therefore it is an important asset and as with all important assets, it should be insured.
Health insurance is defined as a policy that will pay a fixed amount of money for medical expenses and treatments and is basically a way to ensure protection against any sickness or injury.

A number of different categories fall within the umbrella of health insurance like those for disability income insurance, dismemberment insurance, medical expenses and accidental death insurance to name only a few. This gives flexibility and a person can arrange specific types of cover depending on his or her needs.

Fee-for-service plans have been around for a long time and are the most basic of plans available in which the insurance company does not have to pay out unlimited amounts but only an agreed percentage or amount agreed at the time the policy is started. The problem with this plan is that before it can be started, a single payment known as a deductible has to made, then monthly premiums thereafter; fortunately fee-for-services plans are not that common anymore.

Another type of plan is that run by health maintenance organizations where the insured chooses a doctor but must use that doctor each time he has a health problem before he can be referred elsewhere; often know as gatekeepers. The idea behind this is that the insured and doctor will build up a relationship which should be of benefit t both and where the doctor can gain their trust and help to provide preventative advice for good health.

Preferred Provider Organization- is basically a combination of fee-for-service and Health Maintenance Organizations where you designate a network of hospitals and doctors by whichever insurance you buy the options are confined to that set of doctors and hospitals. Medical expenses are covered by the Preferred Provider Organization only when the insured person resorts to the preferred or network providers; however, if you visit a hospital or doctor outside your network, you will often pay an increased amount.

Becoming more commonplace is the Exclusive Provider Organization where health care providers both individual and groups enter into an agreement with the health insurance providers. All medical costs are met by the Exclusive Medical Organization providing it is with one of those in the network and any medical attention supplied outside of this will not be paid, but some exceptions do exist

Cheap Life Insurance Quote For Seniors

Cheap Life Insurance Quote For Seniors by Keith Ule

Seniors do need life insurance. Just because the children are all grown up and moved away does not mean older folks don't need life insurance. Older folks may not need as much life insurance as a young couple with kids and a mortgage, but, they should still have some.

Of course, if you have no one who depends on you financially, and all your bills are paid prior to your death and you have enough in your savings to handle your funeral expenses, you may not need life insurance. Even if the kids are gong and the bills are paid, you may still need life insurance if one of the following pertains to you:

Now days, dying has gotten very expensive. If you do not have $10,000 put away for funeral expenses, the burden will be passed along to your family. If you have a large estate. Estate taxes can be very high. Having a tax differed savings in your policy can pay for these taxes so the burden does not fall on your beneficiaries.

Even though your surviving family may not be dependent on you now, your death may be a severe blow to them where they're unable to generate an income for themselves for a while. Your policy would make sure they're taken care of during this recovery period. It's much easier to have a $10,000 life insurance policy than it is to keep $10,000 cash on hand.

Even though a couple may be older, they each usually have some kind of income. This income may have them accustom to a particular life style. If one of them should die, they may not be able to keep up this life style. Especially with the ever rising cost of inflation. A small term life policy may be all it would take to make sure the survivor can maintain the life style they have become accustom to.

A whole life or permanent life insurance has it's advantages also. It has a tax differed savings that grows with the policy. A portion of your premium payments are used to fund this. In time, this can build up to a very nice cash value. This can be turned into an annuity or drawn on if needed.

A supplement term life insurance policy can be a security blanket for you and family members even if you have a whole life insurance policy. With the cost of living constantly on the rise, you're existing whole life policy may not be enough to pay your final expenses and help your surviving family members the way you had planned.

So, when deciding on your policy, consider the life styles of your surviving family members, the future cost of living hikes, the rising cost of funeral expenses, and the ever growing life expectancies of people now days. You can find a Cheap Life Insurance Quote if you take the time to compare