When shopping for individual health insurance it pays to shop around and get multiple rate quotes from different companies. Choosing individual or family health insurance is a balancing act between cost and coverage, as well as your personal philosophy of care.
Finding the right balance of coverage and cost can seem complicated, but it doesn’t need to be, so take your search one step at a time. The first step is to evaluate your needs and understand your health-insurance options.
Your budget, provider preferences, and current medical requirements will all have a hand in deciding which type of plan is best for you.
Whether you are;
- An early retiree
- Running your own business
- An employee working for a company that doesn’t offer benefits
- A worker who has been recently laid off
- Need a COBRA Alternative
- Between jobs
Our dedicated specialists have the knowledge and expertise to help you save time and money. You get to shop and compare health insurance rates and benefits with all the major plans in California. Once you decide on a plan our fast underwriting will get your plan through, so you can relax knowing you and your assets are protected.
Do you have special insurance needs?
- Short Term Medical
- Part-time or Temporary Employee
- New Graduate
- Waiting for benefits
- Travel Insurance
- Business Travelers Annual Renewable Plans
- Medical Plans for Outside of the U.S.
- Student Plans for International Study
- Single Trip Plans
- Trip Protector Plans
Which health insurance plan is best for you?
The difference between HMO, PPO and HSA
Managed Care: A term used to describe a variety of techniques intended to reduce the cost of providing health benefits and improve the quality of care ("managed care techniques") organizations that use those techniques or provide them as services to other organizations ("managed care organizations"), or systems of financing and delivering health care to enrollees organized around managed care techniques and concepts ("managed care delivery systems").
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): A type of managed care organization (MCO) that provides a form of health care coverage in the United States that is fulfilled through hospitals, doctors, and other providers with which the HMO has a contract. Members then receive all the medical services they need through a group of contracting doctors and hospitals, often with no additional co-payments or fees. Members are generally limited to using providers designated by the HMO.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): A managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who have covenanted with a carrier to provide care at a discount or for a fixed fee to members. The health plan provides incentives to patients to use the contracting providers, so even the insured should benefit, as lower costs to the insurer should result in lower rates of increase in premiums. With a PPO, one can see any doctor one wishes, or visit any hospital one chooses, usually within the preferred network of providers.
Health Savings Account (HSA): A tax favored savings account owned by an individual used to pay for current and future medical expenses. HSAs are used in conjunction with a "High Deductible Health Plan".
High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP): Insurance that does not cover first dollar medical expenses (except for preventive care) to make healthcare more affordable. Can be an HMO, PPO or indemnity plan, as long as it meets the requirements.
Important factors to consider when choosing health insurance:
Deductible amounts: The amount you must pay each year for most covered services before your plan begins to pay. If your plan has a $1,000 deductible, the plan pays all costs except your copayment/coinsurance for care after you pay for the first $1,000 of your covered treatment costs. (For some covered services your plan may pay right away, before you meet the deductible)
Co-insurance: Usually, even after you have paid the deductible, an insurance policy pays only a percentage of your medical expenses. The policy might pay 70%, for example; the remaining 30% represents the amount of the member's share. So, if you were injured and incurred $300 in medical expense, you would pay $90 and your health plan would pay $210.
Co-payment: The portion of the allowable amount that members pay for covered services when receiving benefits. The fixed dollar amount that represents the member's share of the cost of covered services. If your office visit copayment is $20 you would pay that amount each time you see the doctor.
Generic Prescription Drugs (generic drug): A drug which is produced and distributed without patent protection. The generic drug may still have a patent on the formulation but not on the active ingredient. They are safe, effective and equivalent to brand name medications that may cost considerably less than the brand name medications. Generic drugs must meet the same high standards of quality as brand name drugs and are formulated to have the same effect in the body as the brand name version.
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