Medical Health Insurance Glossary

You will find out early on that shopping for medical health insurance is much easier when you know what you are talking about. Listed below are a few of the more common terms that you will want to learn.

Coinsurance: This is the percentage of costs that you will have to pay after you reach your deductible.

Co-payment: If you have an HMO medical health insurance plan, a co-payment is what you will pay each time you visit a provider.

Deductible: With an indemnity plan, the deductible is the amount that you have to pay before your insurance company begins to provide coverage for claims.

Disability insurance: This is a type of medical health insurance that pays you when you are unable to work due to a medical condition or injury. You can by either short or long term coverage.

Indemnity plan: This type of medical health insurance lets you choose doctors based on your own preference, and will pay for these expenses either in full or up to a specified period of time. Many also refer to these as reimbursement plans.

Long-term care insurance: This type of insurance provides care in a private home, nursing home, or assisted living facility.

Major medical insurance: With this type of coverage you will be protected against losses from injury or major illnesses.

Managed care: This is a type of medical health insurance coverage that includes plans including HMOs, PPOs, and POS plans. All of these plans involve an arrangement between the insurance company and a network or doctors and other healthcare providers.

Preexisting condition: These are medical conditions that existed before your medical health insurance policy became effective. Most companies will require you to wait at least three months before they will cover you for a preexisting condition.