How Do I Pick the Ideal Health Plan That Is Best Suited for my Family and Myself

It is of the utmost importance that you understand the moot points of the various family care health insurance covers before you. They could be broadly categorized into:

Affordability

• How much is my monthly premium?
• After I have paid my deductible, upto what percentage of my medical costs would I be reimbursed?
• If I use the services of a medical professional not included in the insurance firm's network, would I be reimbursed less? If so, how much?
• Do I ask for insurance cover for all of my medical costs or just for the major spends?

Extent of Insurance Plan Cover

• Will the plan cover any pre-existent medical problem?
• Does the plan cover chronic conditions like asthma or cancer? If yes, how would they be treated?
• Are the medical service providers- like, hospitals, doctors, laboratories- that I would be using, included in the network of the insurance firm?
• Can I use a doctor outside of the network?
• In an emergency, what are the procedures for obtaining medical care and reimbursement, both at home and outside?
• Does the plan cover reimbursement of alternative medicine procedures? And of the costs involved in delivering a baby?
• Do I have to seek permission if I wish to consult a medical specialist? Is it easy to change my primary care physician should I wish to?

The Quality of the Insurance Plan

• What are my friend's/ doctor's opinion about their experience with this Plan?
• Immunisation, dietary advice, regular health screening- does the Plan allow for cover of preventive health care?
• Are the venues and timings chosen by the medical service providers in the Plans convenient?
• What is the percentage of members who "disenrolled" from the Plan?
• How many complaints filed by patients against the Plan were upheld by the State Insurance regulatory agencies?
• Most important, what sort of accreditation/rating has the Plan received from independent government and non-government Commissions- for example from bodies like the National Committee for Quality Assurance(NCQA)or from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations(JCAHO)?

Should you need any information that you, as a consumer, would require on the plans and specified family health insurance covers offered by the various health care companies, you could contact two of America's foremost insurance associations at

• America's Health Insurance Plans
  601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
  South Building
  Suite 500
  Washington, DC 20004
  www.ahip.org
• Life and Health Foundation for Education
  2175 K Street, NW - Suite 250
  Washington, DC 20037
  www.life-line.org

The best family health insurance policy would be one that is tailor-made to suit your requirements as well as your budget. Considering that its function is to shield against any medical contingency, it would be wise to opt for the best health insurance cover after due comparison with other family health insurance plans which America's leading medical insurance companies have to offer.

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