After you have analyzed your family needs, resist the urge to over-insure! One of the most common health insurance messes I see is over-insurance. People think that if they have greatest coverage for health professionals, hospitals, and prescriptions, they have "good" insurance. The truth is, most people who will be approved for individual health insurance won't need all this coverage. Two things I advise my clients to be aware of: Health care Reform and Stop-Loss. First, Health care Reform allows for preventive care services to be covered at 100%. For example, if you only get checkups, why enroll in the plan with 100% doctor's visit coverage? Furthermore, some of these "maximum coverage" health insurance plans exclude things like pregnancy. The last thing you want to do is pay a small fortune for "good" health insurance only to discover it won't cover something you need it for! Second, most health insurance plans have a stop-loss built into them which basically states that when your out-of-pocket costs reach a payment, the plan will cover you at 100% for all services. And it's not necessary the "maximum coverage" plan for this benefit. Your health insurance specialists can even customize this stop-loss amount!
1. Do not take health insurance advice from someone unqualified to offer this advice. Seek a health insurance specialists, they have studied and are licensed to offer this advice and they're free to you.
2. Consider your actual needs. Consider questions so you know what your particular health plan needs are, that way you can make sure you choose a plan that meets them. After all, if you don't determine what you actually need in a plan, how will you know if you've come across the right fit?
3. Resist the urge to over-insure! Health care Reform has changed how many plans work and you may be able to acquire ample or superlative insurance coverage without over-insuring. And most fundamentally, without the hefty premiums!
There you have it, online health insurance shoppers! I hope this was helpful!