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.
Preventive services, such as vaccines and screenings, can help you avoid certain diseases and catch others in their early stages, to limit the harm they can cause.
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.
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.
Suppose you receive care in a hospital that is in your health plan´s provider network. You may still get a bill from providers who treated you at the hospital but are not part of your plan´s network.
Long-term care is medical and nonmedical care that you receive for an extended period of time, at home, in your community or in a residential facility. This article will tell you how to manage the costs of long-term care. This article does not provide medical, financial or legal advice.
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