Individual Health Insurance or Group Health Insurance - Do You Know The Difference?


by Ted Ninn - Date: 2007-12-07 - Word Count: 410 Share This!

Individual health insurance and group health insurance are very different animals. Group health insurance is the type of insurance that is offered through an employer, or through an affiliation group. Individual health insurance is not. In most parts of the country, you can get individual health coverage through a licensed insurance agent.

Among the advantages of individual health insurance is that you may be offered the option of additional coverage for services like maternity treatment. Group health tends to be more of a "one-size-fits-all" rather than individually put together to suit a person's unique circumstances.

There are some tax advantages for group health insurance. The combination of these tax benefits, and the group purchasing power enables group health to be offered at substantially lower premiums than individual health insurance.

When it comes to choosing your doctor, you should make the decision making process thoughtful and based on a number of factors. It should not just be a hasty decision. You will want to research your choices based upon factors such as the doctor's credentials, and his performance and reputation. You will also want to find out whether doctor's office will work with your health insurance provider, or whether it's considered out of network.

Start with a list of recommendations from friends, colleagues and acquaintances. If you call a doctor and find that they're not taking new patients, you might stop to ask if they can recommend someone who is taking new patients. You can also cross reference your recommendations with the list that your insurance providers has for their network of providers.

The laws governing individual health insurance policies differ in many significant ways compared to the laws regulating group health insurance coverage. The regulations differ extensively from state-to-state.

These are the three main types of individual health insurance plans. HMO was once the most popular individual health insurance but over the years it has dwindled in popularity. PPO has quickly become the most popular choice for individual health insurance plans.

Any purchase of individual health insurance should be considered carefully, as future medical conditions may make it impossible to qualify for another individual health policy.

Finding an appropriate individual health insurance policy that is both affordable and providing the coverage that you need is not an easy task. If you're willing to put the time into researching, talking with agents, and educating yourself on the options, you'll be more likely to find the best possible solution for your coverage.

Related Tags: individual health insurance, florida health insurance, individual health insurance plans

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