Insurance Basics: Home
Skipping health insurance may seem like you’re saving money in the short run—especially if you’re young and healthy. But the cost of getting care without health insurance can be more than you expect. An unforeseen hospital stay, for example, can cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
Regular dental care is important for all people, but especially for children. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires federal and state-run health insurance exchanges to offer children´s dental coverage.
Health insurance protects you from paying the full cost of your care. But, you will likely still have to pay some money out of your pocket. Almost all plans call for “cost sharing”. That means your insurer pays for part of your care, and you pay for part.
Most health plans cover medically necessary visits to an eye doctor. Sometimes they cover routine eye exams too, but to get complete vision coverage you may have to go to other sources. This article will tell you about those sources.
Your plan may contract with doctors, dentists and other healthcare practitioners; hospitals; labs; radiology facilities; pharmacies and other types of providers. These are the providers in your “network”.
For many health services, you have time to plan and shop around. If you’re getting the service in a hospital or health system, you may be able to check the price ahead of time at different facilities. You can also use the Shoppable Services tool on this website to learn the average price for the service in your area and surrounding areas.
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