What Women Should Know About Health Insurance

Women do need to know about Health Insurance!

After all, in many, if not most families, women make decisions about health insurance. In my experienced, women are more concerned about the security of a good medical plan, and if they are mother’s, women tend to be the one to take children to the doctor. Also, despite the fact tha women are cheaper to buy life insurance for, we are more expensive to buy health insurance for. Go figure. By the way, I did also find a great article on women’s life insurance.

What do women need to know about health insurance? The first thing which is a bit obvious but bears repeating – don’t be without it. MSN Money reports that the leading cause of personal bankruptcy is not overspending but unpaid medical bills. Most of us are unaware of how much medical procedures really cost and by the time we find out it’s too late. Unpaid medical bills can drain your savings and ruin your credit rating.

If your covered by your company no problem. If you need to provide your own insurance it is going to take some looking. Ask friends for recommendations, look online, check out associations you belong to see if you qualify for their plan.

To make good decisions about health care insurance you need to understand the basic workings of your policy. There are two kinds of health insurance policies: indemnity plans (called reimbursement plans) and managed care plans such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs) preferred provider organizations (PPO), and point of service plans (POS) plans.

The indemnity plans let you choose your own doctor and pays all or some percentage of your bills after you pay a deductible amount.

Managed care plans make you choose from a selected group of doctors. If you want to see a specialist you must be approved by your primary care physician. It generally takes longer to do get anything done with managed care but the plans are generally cheaper.

Health insurance plans should cover:

• Hospital expenses - room, board and all the other additional hospital services
• Surgical expenses – surgeons’ fees and other cost associated with the surgery.
• Physicians’ expenses – visits to the doctor or if the doctor visits you in the hospital
• Catastrophic illness or injury – protects you against losses from catastrophic illness or injury

Additionally, look at your coverage for prescription drugs, vision, and mental health benefits. Women especially need to scrutinize the areas of preventive care and maternity benefits. Most women by the time they reach 30 years of age are required to have a mammogram. If there is breast cancer in your family history you may have to them sooner or more frequently. Additionally, you may to have a breast ultrasound. If these are not covered by your insurance it can get expensive. If you’re planning on having children you need to know what is covered under maternity so you can plan accordingly.

Also, check out what your co-payments (what you have to when you visit the doctor) are going to be. You should know what your deductible (what you have pay before your insurer will begin paying) is. Along with the deductible you may have a coinsurance cost. Coinsurance is the percentage of your medical cost you’ll pay after you pay the deductible.

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