Become A Health Insurance Expert By Following These Essential Tips
Health insurance is one of those items you need to have just in case an unforeseen accident or injury occurs, you will need coverage. However, sometimes locating a plan to meet your needs can be a challenge. To help you find the coverage to meet your needs, there are a few tips from insurance professionals provided below.
When evaluating health insurance coverage, take the time to compare quotes on the type of plan you need. The costs associated with insurance will range widely between companies. Doing some homework on what is covered vs. cost of coverage can save a lot of money and time, should the need arise.
When you are looking into purchasing your own health insurance, you should sit down and make a list of things that are important to you. You need to consider whether or not your current doctor will be in the network. When you have made a list, it will be easier to start your research, especially if you know what their customer service is like or how much of a premium you can afford.
To save money on health insurance, one strategy is to pool your resources with a group of people. Doing so lets employers offer cheaper insurance to their employees. If you're on your own, you may be able to take advantage of these savings by forming your own group or joining an existing one.
Learn how to read your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements that are provided by your insurer. These statements show exactly what benefits were applied to every healthcare procedure and what you as the patient will be responsible for. This is not the bill however so don't try to pay off of it, your insurer will send you an invoice separately.
Being aware of laws applicable to health insurers, is vital to protecting yourself and your coverage. Most of the time, an insurance company cannot cancel coverage or deny payment because of a clerical error on your part, including during the application process. Unfortunately, paperwork and red-tape are part of the health insurance process, but knowing your rights up front, enables you to plow through it with greater confidence.
Learn the strict coverage details of your health insurance policy. While your policy may state that it covers emergency visits, some hospitals and doctors charge separately for your care. Your policy may cover the hospital's charges, but not the doctor's. If you are unsure about how your company handles this, call them and ask.
Consider a low-cost plan if your job is not stable. Government health insurance policies will offer you the same coverage should you lose your job, but you have to cover the entire cost of the premium yourself. In tough times, make sure you can afford to pay your policy should you need to leave your workplace.
Learn all of the different options available to you with health insurance. With all of the different plans and choices, choosing health insurance can get really confusing. Plus, you might miss an important option because you didn't even know to look for it. Use one of the online health insurance quote providers and request quotes. The service is anonymous, and it's the quickest way to see all of the options offered by different health insurers and compare policy offerings against each other so you can get the most health insurance coverage for your dollar spent.
Read through your policy handbook from your health care, as this can help you learn a lot. It might seem like an inconvenience, but when your insurer sends you an insurance booklet covering your policy details, make sure that you read and comprehend it. Take this time to learn as much as possible about your policy, even though it may seem a little tedious.
An insurance broker can be an interesting option if you don't have a large amount of time yourself. They will help to gather several options for you before you have to make a final decision. Although this will increase the initial price you pay as you must pay the fee, it can help in the long term.
If you're a man, you won't need maternity coverage. This is just one example of the coverage that may come in a health insurance plan that you DON'T need, but you're paying extra for. Another money saving option to look for is a plan that only covers generic drugs which can save you a ton of money on your premiums.
If you want to be sure that you know what you are going for as you begin shopping for health insurance, you will want to get a few good more info tips in your head. It may not be the right time or the time could not be better, so be sure that you are using this advice to get the right policy at the right time.
The Real Costs of Seeking Care for COVID-19 Vary Across and Within Major U.S. Cities
Castlight Health's COVID-19 Cost Analysis Finds Outpatient Evaluation Costs Vary Widely Depending on Severity of Symptoms, Geography, and Provider Type"While the test for COVID-19 may be made available at no cost, individuals seeking care for suspected COVID-19 may be faced with other significant out-of-pocket costs for that care. Sadly, those bills may be coming right as many Americans are losing their paychecks, creating real affordability of care issues," said Maeve O'Meara, CEO of Castlight Health. "Costs vary widely across cities in the U.S., within cities, and depending on the site of care. During this public health emergency, it is more important than ever that people have the tools they need to find high quality care in a timely and affordable manner."
Although the coronavirus relief measures signed by the President in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act have directed private health plans to waive the cost of the specific coronavirus test and visit associated with it, people who are symptomatic and seek care may be responsible for other costs required for an evaluation for COVID-19. These could include influenza testing, chest x-rays, and bacterial, viral, or blood culture tests. These costs can add up quickly, particularly for the 27.5 million people with no insurance or those who have high-deductible health plans and will pay for services out-of-pocket.
The severity of COVID-19 varies widely, from mild cough and fever, to chest pains and shortness of breath, which can drastically affect the necessary treatment, need for hospitalization, and associated costs.
Most notably, the analysis found that:
Within a given U.S. city, average prices vary greatly for patients exhibiting standard COVID-19 symptoms including fever, cough, and shortness of breath:
In Los Angeles, the cost for a primary care visit and standard lab testing ranges from $304 to $4447—roughly a 14-fold difference.
In Dallas, the cost for the same services ranges from $193 to $4308—a 22-fold difference.
Similarly, in Miami, these services range in cost from $354 to $5729—a 16-fold difference.
Costs also vary widely depending on the provider type or site of care:
Even without symptoms severe enough to warrant further imaging or lab testing, a visit to evaluate respiratory symptoms can cost someone living in the New York metro area an average of $79 for a telehealth visit, $235 for a primary care visit, $352 for an urgent care visit, and $2,321 for an ER visit.
In Miami, patients can expect costs for evaluating symptoms to average $79 for using telehealth as their entry point, $189 for visits through a primary care provider, $483 for visits through an urgent care provider, and $1,524 if they enter the system through the ER.
"During this incredibly stressful pandemic outbreak, it is critical that people have a clear understanding of the care they need, and how much that care is likely to cost," said Dena Bravata, MD, MS, Castlight Advisor and former Senior Scholar at the Stanford Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research. "Castlight's COVID-19 Cost Analysis sheds light on the vastly different costs patients seeking care associated with COVID-19 will see depending on where they live, and where they choose to receive care."
Methodology
The primary source of data used for this analysis is a subset of 2.5 billion de-identified medical claims for primary care, urgent care, emergency room, lab tests, and x-ray supplemented with:
Provider directory data (e.g., which doctors provide which type of care).
Provider rate sheets.
Publicly available data.
The costs provided are for a member in their deductible phase seeing in-network providers. The ranges provided are for the 5th to the 95th percentile of costs in that metropolitan region.
The components of an evaluation for a patient seeking care associated with COVID-19 depend on their symptom severity and site of care. The procedures and services we included are:
Site of care: telehealth visit, primary care visit, urgent care visit, ER visit.
Care for moderate COVID-19 symptoms: initial cost of a provider visit, influenza test, sputum culture and sensitivity, blood culture and sensitivity, complete blood count, and comprehensive metabolic panel.
Care for severe COVID-19 symptoms: initial cost of a provider visit, all lab tests listed above, and a chest x-ray.
Click here to download the full report.
About Castlight Health
Castlight is on a mission to make it as easy as humanly possible for its users to navigate the healthcare system and live happier, healthier, more productive lives. Our health navigation platform connects hundreds of health vendors, benefits resources, and plan designs into one comprehensive health and wellbeing experience. We guide individuals—based on their unique profile—to the best resources available to them, whether they are healthy, chronically ill, or actively seeking medical care. Castlight transforms the employee benefit experience into a deeply personalized, yet simple, guided one, empowering better-informed patient decisions to unlock better healthcare outcomes and maximizing return on healthcare investments.
For more information visit www.castlighthealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and Like us on Facebook.
https://edition.cnn.com/business/newsfeeds/prnewswire/202003200600PR_NEWS_USPR_____SF57329.html
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1epF3asROLV-VbQsc3q4D-KoTPNFSY6wW-ygZRY4xrAo/edit#slide=id.gb305dd1d5e_0_6