An affordable healthcare provision is in no doubt one of the cardinal points of the fundamental human right of every legal citizen of the country. Government has a significant role to play by providing cheaper, easily accessible and quality healthcare cover for its people.
Of course, the state has several obligations to meet, with relatively scarce resources at its disposal. Which causes a gap and the question, who fills it, and how? People must live well, and bills must be paid. People must purchase health insurance to avoid the high cost of healthcare.
Healthcare insurance takes care of the medical and surgical expenses of an insured person through contributory taxes or personal financing, either in part or wholly. When you are insured, your assets are protected from the uncertainty of medical problems capable of making you go bankrupt.
No wonder some capitalist economies such as the United States promote private healthcare insurance financing social (government) healthcare insurance system. It is essential to be rightly guided on how to buy affordable healthcare insurance in the year 2020. The following steps will be beneficial.
1) Research carefully
Individuals may not need any private health insurance because they may be covered by the social insurance policy of their peculiar state. As an American citizen, you may be qualified for Medicaid- the state’ s insurance program for the poor who cannot afford private healthcare insurance.
Also, people with particular medical history (pre-existing condition) that are not previously captured are now taken care of under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of Obamacare. Although this could vary from state to state, as some states rejected the policy in their respective domains. It is important to inquire to know what is available for your state and how covered you are.
2) Decide on your health plan marketplace.
You will need to find the right market where to shop for your coverage. As an employee, your workplace (employer) may be the right place. This is far more preferable because employers pay part of the employee’s health premium.
Alternatively, you could look elsewhere probably in the exchanges though that may cost you more. The state’s marketplace will be the next place to turn if you are without a job or if you are a business owner. Other available sources would be to approach health insurers directly, or you go through exchanges.
3) Assess healthcare insurance plan options.
You will inevitably encounter several options when shopping for your kind of health insurance policy. The type that you choose will determine the services you stand to enjoy and such as your doctors, referrals and ultimately your- out-of-pocket cost.
You should look out for all the benefits while considering the best plan that suits you. Online sources such as healthcare.gov may likely show you a summary of what a healthcare plan is likely to offer.
4) Scrutinize health plan networks.
Seeing a doctor within your health coverage network is cheaper than seeking for those outside your network. This is because the latter don’t operate at an agreed charge rate. When asking for your preferred doctors ensure they are within the provider’s directories for cases you intended to be treated for. Insurance companies contracts low rate with health providers and this is one of the ways you can pay less for treatment.
5) Compare all the costs.
The summary of the health plan should be considered along with the cost. Out-of-pocket cost is as significant as the network that you settle for. The essence of comparing the cost is to narrow down based on out-of-pocket cost. A plan with a higher out- of -pocket cost but lower premium might be the perfect one for you.
6) Examine benefits.
At this, so many options would have been narrowed to see which one would probably be the best option. To fully take advantage of this position would be to narrow down further to compare and see which of the plan will have more extensive coverage for different health cases such as mental health, physiotherapy, counselling.
7) Choose the best plan for you.
Finding a cheap insurance plan may not be at getting the best option for you. You may seek health insurance coverage that may not meet your needs. By carefully following the procedures, by looking at insurance alternatives, your need assessment should give you the best choice that pays you at the end of the day.
In conclusion, getting affordable and quality healthcare insurance cover in the coming year will come through a lot of considerations. An insurance policy that applies to you may not apply to somebody else; hence, the need to carefully proper guidelines to meet your needs.
