Read, Keep Records, Stay Informed Well, to wrap up a two week series of Health Insurance, I hope it has given you a nice overview of what is all involved. I have not dived into any one topic too deeply, because there is so many differences from policy to policy, these articles would be longer than your insurance documents. So instead, read...

HRA And FSA And HSA, Oh My! Some of the ways you can pay for medical expenses is with pre-tax dollars. A Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) is one type which is usually set aside by your employer. Money in this type of account can roll over from year to year until there are no funds left. A Flexible Savings Account (FSA) Is usually a...

Once A Year Doctor’s Visit When you look at Preventative services, be aware there are guidelines that define what these are. Loosely defined, these are the services done during a once a year annual physical you have with the doctor. Make sure you are aware of these services, because many plans will cover this differently than a...

Everything Is Covered? Under some preconceived notion, many assume that once they have health insurance coverage, anything is covered. Or, they assume, their doctor says it’s needed, so then the insurance company must cover it. In all reality, policies have Exclusions and Riders that you should know about and read before...

Coordinating Choices Coordination of Benefits is probably the biggest thing of the health insurance business that gets confused. What coordination of benefits does is put into order insurance policies when you have two or more insurance policies. Some think, and I’ve heard this: “Well, my plan is better than my wife,...

The Ins and Outs of Providers Some plans get very specific about In-Network Providers. So much so, you can only get benefits if you only go to in-network providers. There are other plans that allow for Out-Of-Network providers. Depending on the plans, the benefits can be a little less then in-network. But this is to encourage you to...

Adding Up The Coins Now that we have gotten through copays and deductibles, we must now consider co-insurance. After you satisfy your deductible then you have a portion, shared expenses with the insurance company. Co-insurance is where the plan pays a percentage of the cost and shares the other percentage with you. A few plans...