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).
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.
Flexible spending plans let you set aside money from your paycheck. You can use it to pay for care before meeting your deductible, and for copays and coinsurance afterward.
After you visit a provider, you may get a bill telling you how much you have to pay.
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.
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