The primary purpose of a health insurance policy is to protect policy holders from large catastrophic claims. For this reason it is important to research an insurance company's complaint ratio to determine how reliably a company pays claims. Generally, complaint ratios are consolidated in two places, the state department of insurance website and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website.
Clearly, a lower complaint ratio is better because it indicates the insurance company is paying for claims as the policy holder expects they should. An average complaint ratio is about 1.00 per million dollars of premium. A policy with low premiums and a complaint ratio much higher than 1.00 may offer peace of mind, but it is contrary to the purpose of health insurance in providing financial security. It is better to pay a little more for a policy with a company that has a low complaint ratio.
Many companies at the state level have seemingly exceptional complaint ratios of 0.00. This can be a good sign, but in most cases it's not very informative because it simply means the company doesn't have very many policy holders in the state. Insurance companies should be collecting close to $30 million in premium per year before this statistic can be thought of as significant.
Large Network
The second factor in choosing a health insurance company is the size of the network. The vast majority of health plans pay lower benefits out of their network. Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans can pay out of network benefits, but often at a much lower benefit scale. By contrast, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans most often don't offer any out of network coverage except for emergency services. The result of a small network for the policy holder can be high out of network expenses or time consuming searches for fleeting in network providers. The easiest way to get a sense of a given network is to visit the insurance company's homepage and perform a localized provider search for primary caregivers, specialists, and hospitals. Large networks will penetrate 75-95% of primary care givers and 80-100% of hospitals and facilities.
Long Term Stability
Most policy holders develop health conditions as they age, and become less desirable or even ineligible as applicants if they decide to change insurance companies. Consequently, it is important to choose a company with long term financial viability. An insurance company should be chosen as if it were a lifelong decision, because it very well may be. Insurance companies that use high pressure sales tactics and limited time offers are usually successful in the short term, but falter over time. Understanding that an applicant's attractiveness to an insurance company decreases over time, it's vital to choose a company with an established history of stability and predictability. Good indicators of an insurance company's long term strength are its age in the industry and its current financial rating.
As an independent broker, I came to the conclusion that Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) is the health insurance company that offers the highest value per dollar of premium. BCBS has the largest network in the United States and in each region their complaint ratio is very low. BCBS is established as a long term force in health insurance and as a consequence is not prone to the short-sighted deceptive practices some insurance companies use. This is demonstrated by the relative simplicity of BCBS health insurance contracts, their lack of unexpected loopholes, and the proven long term stability of the company.To summarize, when choosing an insurance company, it's vital that they pay claims, have a large network of providers to visit, and have a focus of long term stability.
A Health Insurance Company
Step Two - Get information from several health insurance providers. Not all health care plans are the same. It’s well worth the time and effort to review more than once health insurance policy. It can save you time, money, and improve the quality of your healthcare in the future.
Some of the big names in Health insurance may be a great place to start your comparisons such as: Golden Rule Insurance, Celtic Insurance, American Medical Security Insurance, Time Insurance, UNICARE Insurance, Humana Insurance and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Insurance just to name a few.
Those of you looking for Michigan Medicaid and Medicare help must first meet the requirements for qualifications. Each county may have different requirements such as income and more. Check with your local health department for more information.
Step Three - Review each health insurance plan making notes of benefits provided for these basic coverage sections: physical exams, specialists’ care, hospitalization, prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, emergency care Ob-Gyn care, preventative care, and alternative care coverage. Remember to evaluate using the notes you made in step one.
Pay careful attention to co-pays, spending limits, and deductible amounts in each section for each health insurance plan you’re reviewing. The goal is to do what’s called “comparison shopping." As you go through this process, most likely one or two health care policies will seem to meet your needs better than the others.
Step Four – Once you’ve picked out two or three possible health insurance plans, make notes of questions and concerns about each. Now it’s time to get your questions answered and make your decision.
It’s important to make sure you’re speaking with a qualified, licensed health insurance agent. Don’t hesitate to continue to ask questions until you feel you have all the information you need to make a good choice.
Other Helpful InformationCompare Health insurance Plans Online and Save TimeTake your time to find what you need at a price you can afford. What is great about looking for Health insurance options online is you can compare plans and benefits first on your own, without talking to different representatives. Most Health insurance companies offer FREE online services and FREE online instant rate quotes. All that is required is for you to quickly fill out a secured application. In the matter of minutes you should have your results in front of you. Just in case you have questions these companies have licensed Health insurance professionals waiting for your call.
Keep it Going! Who Can Benefit From Temporary Health insurance?Temporary health insurance or short-term medical insurance is also available in Michigan and will allow you to have coverage for a temporary amount of time. This type of insurance isn’t right for everyone. Inquiries of this form of health care usually comes from those who are between jobs, seasonal employees, laid-off and can even benefit young adults recently coming off of their parents’ health plan. Plans tend to last somewhere between six months but some have been known to go twelve months.
Temporary Health insurance forms are much more simple than permanent insurance. Coverage on a short-term plan can begin as quickly as twenty-four hours. This insurance caters to unseen accidents and illness. Because it is temporary, they do not typically cover preventive care, vision, dental or pre-existing conditions. For pre-existing conditions you may want to check your COBRA benefits. There Are Other Ways to Keep Your Health insurance after Losing Your JobDon’t let recent un-employment keep you from the care that you need! For instance if a loved one is expecting, the last thing you want is to lose your maternity insurance. There is another alternative called consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or COBRA. This type of insurance normally last longer than temporary or short-term insurance but it is still a type of temporary insurance. Normally COBRA policies can last for approximately eighteen months. For more detailed information on COBRA’s extended policy plans talk to your employer about their specific Health insurance carrier’s plan. Many people don’t know about temporary Health insurance coverage. In fact, people take chances between coverage all the time because of lack of knowledge. The advantage of temporary Health insurance coverage is to fill a gap in coverage. Although this is temporary coverage is great to have, it does not replace permanent coverage. Michigan HIPAA Laws and How They Could Effect YouIf you currently have pre-existing conditions and are looking into short-term Health insurance coverage WAIT! You may be buying health coverage that will not cover you and then make you ineligible for the care that you need. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA plans are mainly for those who have pre-existing conditions and may have trouble getting health insurance. These plans can be extremely expensive. The HIPAA Federal law gives a person immediate access to comparable coverage when leaving employment that provided coverage.
Get familiar with your rights and consult your benefits advisor to discuss the best options for you. You can take back your health with Health insurance companies where there is a plan to fit everyone’s need. Reading up and doing your homework on plans that pertain to your needs can help eliminate useless information and help you find the right Health insurance plan much faster.
Both Alex Gwen Thomson & Lisa Ip are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Alex Gwen Thomson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Income Tax Return and Wrinkles. Goebelt Insurance is a leading provider of health insurance from blue cross blue shield of north carolina. Visit us today for a free rate quote from BCBSNC and info. Alex Gwen Thomson's top article generates over 673000 views. Bookmark Alex Gwen Thomson to your Favourites.
Lisa Ip has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health Insurance, Dental Insurance and Health Insurance. Lisa Ip is president of Uniforce Insurance, which she founded in 1994, in Madison Heights, Michigan. For more information regarding health insurance in Michigan, visit. Lisa Ip's top article generates over 2900 views. Bookmark Lisa Ip to your Favourites.
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