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.
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.
Employers offer health coverage to their workers in several ways. Some buy an “off the shelf” plan from a commercial insurance company.
An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is a group of doctors or hospitals who have agreed to work together to coordinate and improve their patients´ care
Most health plans don´t cover treatments they regard as “experimental”. Sometimes, they may deny a claim for such a treatment.
Sometimes you know ahead of time that a major event will happen in your life. Examples might include getting married or divorced, changing jobs or having a baby. Other times, such as at a death, you may not have advance warning.