The Right Type of Health Plan

If you are self employed in Seattle, you are probably very concerned about health insurance.  The least expensive way for most people to get insurance is through group medical insurance, but group insurance programs are normally organized and subsidized by employers.  As a self-employed person, however, you need an individual or family policy.

Many health plans offer policies for families and individuals that have the same types of benefits that group health policies offer.  Health plans in Seattle include policies for which you make co-pays or policies for which you must meet deductibles.  You can get a HMO, a PPO or a POS and you can have a policy that requires co-payments or coinsurance.  Concurrently, you might have a deductible for your health insurance.

With so much to know about health plans, you need to do a lot of studying before you choose which type of coverage will be right for you.  You need to know that HMOs are Health Maintenance Organizations are managed care systems in which patients utilize doctors and hospitals with which the HMO contracts.  A PPO is a Preferred Provider Organization in which the organization joins with as many doctors and hospitals that are willing to participate with them.  A POS plan is like an HMO or a PPO but you do not choose your provider until the point in time that you need a particular service.

You can choose these types of health insurance plans in Seattle or through the internet with varying terms.  You can choose to have a health plan with a $500 deductible or you can choose to have a health plan with a $5000 deductible or anywhere in between.  You can get a plan that requires you pay $20 per doctor's office visit or $60 per visit or anything in between.  If you get a policy that requires you to pay coinsurance your insurance company could require you to pay 10%, 20% or 25% of the total cost of whatever service you receive.

Typically, your premiums will be lower if you pay more through co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance.  If you have a $500 deductible with $20 co-pay or a 10% coinsurance payment, you will pay a higher premium than with a policy that has a $5000 deductible and $60 co-pay or a 25% coinsurance payment.

Before you get your health plan, you will want to go online and use an insurance quote service to find the different plans available to you and for what premium amounts they are available.

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