Insurance Basics: Home
Your plan contracts with a wide range of doctors and other practitioners, as well as hospitals, labs, radiology facilities, pharmacies and other providers. These are the providers in your “network”. Each of these providers has agreed to take your plan´s contracted rate as payment in full for services.
Your health insurance ID card is your proof of insurance. You use it when you visit the doctor, hospital or other provider.
Health plans negotiate the price of medical services with certain doctors, hospitals, labs and other providers.
Anesthesia is used to block pain, relax you or control how awake you are. It is used during surgery or other complex procedures. You may need anesthesia even if you´re not in an operating room.
To look up the estimated costs for behavioral health services (including mental health and alcohol and/or drug services), go to our home page, fairhealthconsumer.org, and click on Medical and Hospital Costs.
New rules have expanded access to two types of limited health insurance plans. They are association health plans (AHPs) and short-term, limited duration (STLD) health plans. Because they don’t have to follow the Affordable Care Act, these plans can cost less than regular health plans. But, they have limitations you should know.
