Signing up for health insurance (and getting an idea of how much it’ll will set you back) isn’t as straight-forward as signing up for something like Netflix or a gym membership. Your health insurance cost will depend on a number of factors. To get the most coverage for the lowest rate, you should start by getting several quotes so you can compare your options.
An easy way to review health insurance quotes is using an online health insurance rate comparison tool. The right tool will help you visually compare the benefits and costs of each healthcare policy you are considering.
How Health Insurance Quotes Work
The Internet is an excellent source for obtaining a health insurance quote. Each site allows shoppers to enter key information such as age, occupation, gender, and smoking history. Once this information is in the system, the site will calculate a range of what you can expect to pay for a range of health insurance policies. The next step? Review the details of each plan and ultimately decide which policy will be the best fit for coverage requirements.
What Conditions Influence Plan Costs
A variety of factors play into a health insurance quote including:
- Patient location
- Age and family size
- Tobacco use
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Under the current health reform, there are no exclusions or penalties for preexisting medical conditions or previous health conditions.
How to Find the Best Insurance Quote
Finding the best insurance quote can be accomplished through reviewing premiums, required deductibles, co-payment amounts and details such as co-insurance.
- A premium amount is the dollar figure that will need to be paid for health insurance, typically monthly, in order to enjoy active insurance coverage.
- A deductible is the amount of money that you will owe for services before a health insurance plan will begin to pay. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium will be.
- A co-payment (aka co-pay) is what a patient will pay at the time of an office visit, and the amount will then be applied to services rendered.
- Finally, co-insurance is an amount of money that a patient will pay in part, towards allowable covered health services.
Understanding health insurance quotes and how to interpret the coverage you will be paying for can be accomplished by knowing what the above terms mean in relationship to out-of-pocket costs.
For example, if you rarely need to go to the doctor, a high-deductible health plan might be best for you because the low monthly premium will free up more cash for your savings. If you’re in and out of the doctor on a regular basis, you might want something with a higher premium, but lower deductible.
Selecting the correct health insurance will leave you with a plan that adequately and affordably covers basic services, emergency care, routine physicals, and even preventative care.