Individual Health Insurance Plans: FAQ

Here are some of the most common questions about individual health insurance plans. Knowing these answers will allow you to shop much more effectively for the best policy.

What type of individual health insurance plan is best for me?

When it comes down to it, there are two types of individual health insurance plans to choose from: Indemnity plans and managed care plans such as HMOs, PPOs, and POS plans. With an indemnity plan you can choose your own doctors and the plan will pay for an agreed upon portion. With managed care plans an arrangement between insurers and providers dictates price, coverage, etc.

Which plan is better? An HMO or indemnity plan?

Each individual health insurance plan has its own pros and cons. What is best for you may not be best for somebody else. If you are considering an HMO, you need to make sure that your family doctor participates with the insurer. If they do not, you may want to consider a PPO instead because you can still get at least some coverage. On the other side of things, an HMO does not require any deductible and the co-payments are usually much lower. But when it comes down to it, you should choose the type of individual health insurance plan that is best for your health needs and budget.

What if I want to see a specialist that is outside of my HMO provider network?

You will need to ask your family doctor or primary care physician for a referral. If they refuse to provide you with this, you can either change to a new doctor or pay for the specialist visit out of your own pocket.

What is chiropractic insurance? Can I get it?

It is very unlikely that you are going to be able to find an individual health insurance plan that is designed specifically for chiropractic care. But with that being said, your plan may provide some coverage. Check on this before you head to the chiropractor.