Today in the United States, the cost of healthcare continues to rise steadily. This makes finding the right health insurance policy a lot more difficult. You need to be clear about your needs as well as understand what are and what are not covered by the different health insurance policies. Knowing this vital information can help you make an informed decision on which particular health insurance policy to choose for you and your family.

Health Insurance Plan for Individuals

An individual health insurance plan, as the name implies, covers only one person. If you are not married or do not have any other person to worry about, an individual health insurance plan is the best option for you. However, there are several varieties of individual health insurance plans. Choose the individual health insurance plan according to your spending power and coverage you want.

An Indemnity Plan is a type of individual health insurance plan that gives you the freedom to choose any medical care provider. This plan will also cover the services that you avail of. However, this coverage will largely depend on the deductible you have paid and how much you are ready to pay out-of-pocket. It's a trade-off: your monthly premium will be expensive but you get to choose your doctor or medical institution to provide you the medical care you need.

HMOs, which are the most popular individual managed plans, do not offer you the freedom that an indemnity plan offers. If you go with an HMO, you can only choose a medical care provider from their network or list. You can go to a specialist only if you have a referral. If you only require check ups and sometimes antibiotics, you should opt for this plan.

You can pay extra and avail of dental and prescription drug coverage under both kinds of plans specified above.

Health Insurance for Family

Family health insurance plans are for families. Compared to individual health insurance policies, family health insurance plans cost higher. If you have a large family, your family health insurance cost will be higher too. Other factors can determine the costs of your monthly premium include: gender mix in your family, lifestyle and habits (e.g., smoking, drinking, etc). Indemnity plans exist for families and offer the same freedom as for individuals. These are better because you are dealing with many people whose needs and medical needs may vary.

Managed care plans for families also exist. They have features very similar to managed health care plans for individuals. The cost will be higher but definitely less than the family indemnity plans.

Health Insurance Plan for Groups

Many employers offer their employees the benefit of insurance coverage. They pay the premium for their employees. The amount that you need to pay will depend on the policy you choose because companies offer both kinds of policies.