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HEALTHCARE PLANS 2007 BUYERS
GUIDE
Introduction to Buying Health
Insurance
When it comes
to health insurance there are
a broad range of policies. The
most common policy is that which
covers doctors and hospital
costs. But there are more specific
insurance policies such as long-term
care, dental, and vision plans.
In this guide, however, we will
just discuss general healthcare
coverage and all that's involved.
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Health insurance
today can be divided into two
groups, "managed
care"and "fee-for-service".
The definition for managed
care is a health
care delivery system that manages
access, cost and quality of
health care by monitoring how
and in what manner services
are provided. Fee-for-service
can be defined as a the
traditional payment method whereby
patients pay doctors, hospitals,
and other providers for services
rendered and then bill private
insurers or the government.
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Fee-for-Service
(also called indemnity) is a
preferred coverage for many
because it generally offers
complete freedom in choosing
ones own doctors (including
specialists) and hospitals.
Fee-for-service policies, however,
tend to be more expensive
to the consumer than managed
care policies. |
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Managed care
plans (HMOs, PPOs & POS),
are less expensive to the consumer because
healthcare services are performed at
a reduced cost. Managed care companies
have agreements with specific doctors,
hospitals, and other medical care facilities
in order to control medical costs. The
draw back to this coverage is that patients
can only get medical care with the company's
specified network of facilities and
doctors. |
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Please continue to read further as we will discuss
both of these types of health insurance coverage in detail.
At the end of this guide, we hope that you will know which
kind of health insurance is the best one for you.
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