Fee-for-service

Why should I get health insurance?
The price of health care is increasingly going up. The cost of a visit to the emergency room, or even the cost of a simple visit to the doctor's office, can be overwhelming for average families who are uninsured. The prices of prescription drugs are going up. Many people, in fact, are simply choosing to go without them. They're choosing to pay the electric bill and keep food on the table and in the meantime just stay sick. Health insurance can save you thousands and thousands of dollars in the long run, bring you peace of mind, and, perhaps most importantly, bring you really good health care when you need it most.
What if I can't afford health insurance?
The simple truth is, you can't afford not to have health insurance. Obviously, when it comes to the big things, such as car accidents and broken bones, an uninsured hospital stay will clean out your bank account and put you in deep debt for years, perhaps the rest of your life. These big things, these big accidents, are what people think most of when they think of getting health insurance. But these incidents are relatively rare. Where life insurance comes in especially handy is in the small things, the little ones. Visits to the doctor, flu shots, strep throat, even a really bad cold - the costs of these everyday experiences can add up and take a devastating financial toll. No matter which way you look at it, health insurance is a must.

Where do I go to get health insurance coverage?
Many times your place of work or (if you're a college student) your school will offer a health insurance plan. This is a good place to start. Find out about the plan and what you need to do to qualify for it. Remember, a relatively small monthly payment is to be preferred to a relatively large and unexpected one. Another place to find life insurance coverage, if your work or school doesn't offer it, is online. In our world, everything is available online, and the internet is rapidly becoming one of the best places (if not the best place, period) to locate health insurance coverage that can be uniquely arranged to fit your unique needs.
What are the different types of health insurance coverage?
There are basically two different types of health insurance coverage, indemnity plans and HMO's. HMO's are managed health care plans, which means that your health insurance company would manage your health insurance for you. They'd decide which hospitals and doctors you could go to, what procedures you could have, what medications, and so forth. An indemnity plan offers you more freedom. In return for paying more, you can choose your hospital and doctor, and you generally have a lot more options when it comes to specialists, that is, doctors who specialize in unusual physical problems. One of the freest kinds of indemnity plans are fee-for-service plans.
What are fee-for-service plans?
Fee-for-service plans are plans where you choose each medical service you want individually. You decide where to go, who to see, what test to have performed, etc. In a fee-for-service plan, each of these services comes with an individual fee. Generally, co-pays and deductibles are higher when it comes to fee-for-service plans, but many people find the freedom that fee-for-service plans offer quite worth the cost. With fee-for-service plans, you pinpoint the thing that you need, pay the fee, and tell your insurance company what you did and how much it costs. Your insurance company then reimburses you. It's important, therefore, if you're thinking about a fee-for-service plan, that you really do your research. You don't want to pick up a fee-for-service plan and then find out that it doesn't offer a specific service that you want when it's too late. Fee-for-service plans are great overall, offering a lot of independence and comfort to the user. You'll pay more for a fee-for-service plans, but the freedom may be worth it. Even so, fee-for-service plans have some limits. Find out what those limits are before signing up for a fee-for-service plan, and then you can sign up for the one that's best suited for you.