Saturday, February 28, 2009

Do You Have A Medical Insurance Plan?

By Tommy Hammerman

Those of us in search of medical insurance ideally want to get our hands on a group medical insurance plan. For many, one of the biggest perks of taking a new job, and hanging onto it, is the group medical insurance plan that it offers. Unfortunately, employers are not required to offer any kind of group medical insurance plans to their employees.

Due to the recession, many companies are looking for ways to lower expenses, and many programs are getting scaled back or even eliminated. Because of these changes are happening so quickly it is important that you do something right away. Make sure that you have options set up and you looked into what you can do in the event that unique to do something quickly.

If for some reason you can't get medical insurance to your employer, or you become unemployed, you are probably going to look for an individual medical insurance plan. Finding this individual plan can be a tough job. It is almost like going on a scavenger hunt.

That being said, the two most popular kinds of health insurance are still through a traditional employer or some kind of organization that you are a affiliated with. These groups can offer insurance plans including medical, life, homeowners, and auto to their members. Companies like club membership programs have these kinds of options.

If you are in the position that your organization offers these benefits, read up about the different policies available. Usually the process involves filling out forms, and providing them to a benefit department like a human resources department. Quite often you get your paperwork back in the mail and the benefits are effective immediately.

There are two main kinds of medical insurance plans. The first kind is a fully insured medical plan in which an organization pays for all of your health-related needs. You are probably familiar with this type of plan. Basically, you pay your monthly premiums, and then visit the doctor and pay a co-pay. Anything that's covered in the plan over and above the co-pay is handled by the insurance provider.

The second type of plan out there is considered a minimum premium plan. Basically, the plan takes on the responsibility up to a certain amount for health-related services. In other words, is To a certain dollar amount. You will pay a portion of the bill and the insurer will pick up the rest. It is very much like having a deductible.

With this kind of plan, you are usually either given a basic group plan, or a major medical plan. Sometimes you see a combination of the two but that is not usually the case. Keep in mind, that as things continue to change we will probably see variations on these kinds of plans come into play. - 15275

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