What are the benefits of having health insurance?
More precious than gold or diamonds. More valuable than the Euro Millions prize. Health – ours and that of those around us – emerges as our most valuable asset. More than the absence of disease, being healthy means living in a situation of physical, psychological and social well-being. But this goal is not always easy to achieve. Never as in recent years has there been so much talk about health and more and more US people have chosen to contract health insurance, as a complementary solution to the National Health Service (SNS). Find out why.
The benefits of having health insurance protection
According to data from the US Insurance Association, in September 2020 there were close to three million US people with health insurance. The inherent advantages of this type of solution justify the preference: it is a convenient, fast and flexible alternative to access the necessary care to monitor health and also to prevent the development of diseases. All this without having to face long waiting lists for an appointment or surgery.
But the benefits of health insurance are not limited to reducing waiting times to access health care. It is also the guarantee of being able to access permanent specialist advice, a wide network of health care providers and a wide range of medical specialties and services, which provide greater protection and freedom of choice, at a reduced price.
How to choose the best health insurance
Given the different protection solutions available, it is important that you choose the Pri-Med Health Insurance that best protects you. To find the most suitable health insurance for you, take note of some essential recommendations.
Assess your health care needs
At each stage of life we need specific health care. As such, before taking out health insurance, you need to define what coverage you need the most, those that will be most beneficial to you and which health care you want to use more often. For example, if you need to regularly take care of stomatology, it is important to ensure that the insurance covers these expenses or to take out specific insurance for this purpose.
But it is not enough to analyze the coverages. It is also essential to ensure good capital – which corresponds to the maximum amount that the insurance company undertakes to pay for each coverage. Analyze with special care the predicted values for the coverages that tend to have more expensive procedures – as is the case of hospitalization and oncology – and also for those that you expect to use more frequently.
Check Waiting Periods and Exclusions
Generally, insurance provides for a waiting period, ie a time when health insurance is already active, but during which you cannot yet enjoy all the benefits. This grace period varies depending on the coverage and does not apply in the event of an accident. Likewise, there are certain situations that are excluded from the protection provided by health insurance. This is the case, for example, of diseases that existed before taking out the insurance. For this reason, it is important to know in detail the conditions under which you can use your insurance.
Evaluate the costs that you are responsible
for Regardless of the health insurance you purchase, there will always be a cost that you will have to bear for the health expenses incurred. These payments can be made through different types. In the reimbursement mode, the expenses are paid by the insured person, and then reimbursed by the insurance company, in the co-payment defined in the contract. In the co-payment mode, you only pay the part of the expense that is not covered by the insurance. The remaining portion – which is the responsibility of the insurer – is paid directly by the insurer to the entity providing the health service.
Many health insurance companies combine these two typologies, providing for the co-payment system within the agreed network – health entities in agreement with the insurance company – and the reimbursement system in situations in which medical services are used outside the agreed network. You should analyze this data carefully to understand what the real costs you will have with health care.
Do several simulations
It is true that no two health insurances are the same – which makes it difficult to compare them – but you should always do simulations between the different solutions to understand which has the coverage that best suits your needs, with the best ratio premium-coverages.