Choosing Your Health Insurance Plan
The choice of a health insurance plan can cause considerable stress. Your decision will determine which doctors you can see, which medications and treatments will be covered, and how quickly and conveniently you can take advantage of your coverage. You will make a better decision, and have greater confidence in your decision, if when exploring your options, you find the answers to the following questions: * Are your current physicians, both primary care and specialty, are included in the plan? * Are there highly regarded, well trained specialty physicians in areas that are important to your health; think about possible future needs as well as current? * Are your current medications included in the plan's formulary (list of covered drugs); if they are not covered, would the alternatives they offer be appropriate for you? * Are there limitations on coverage in areas that are of particular importance to you? These might include reconstructive surgery, psychiatric programs, substance abuse programs, and weight loss.
It's likely that no one plan will score the highest on this list of criteria. Instead, you will probably have to choose the plan that gives you the most benefits with the least drawbacks. However, the good news is that once you have identified the drawbacks, you can find ways to offset them. For example Health Savings Accounts (HSA) can help you pay for care that isn't covered by allowing you to set aside money tax-free.
Making health care decisions isn't something anyone enjoys, and they're easy to put off. But if you take control of your situation and put in the time and effort needed to understand what each plan offers, at least you will only have to go through this process once. Then you can relax, knowing you're covered.