Insurance Basics: Home
Your employer may offer more than one health plan, or you may be shopping for your own individual plan.
After you get care, your provider sends a bill, or “claim,” to your insurance company. Your insurance company handles the claim and sends you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB).
Your plan´s rules and costs may differ for some types of care. Knowing these rules can help you control your costs and get the right care in the right setting.
By law, consumers living in New York State have certain protections when shopping for and using their health insurance. Your insurer must provide up-to-date information about who is in your network.
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.
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