This article discusses five crucial terms you need to know about when you start looking for Kentucky individual health insurance
I recently spoke with someone who just graduated from college and had
obtained a job that offered health insurance, which therefore put her
in a situation where she could no longer be covered under her parents
insurance. Since she had never shopped for insurance, she knew very
little about what a great plan for her would look like, let alone if the
one offered through her job was a plan reasonable for what she would
need. She had never educated herself in insurance terms, but said she
wished she had known these when she had to research Kentucky Individual
Health Insurance:
1. Premium: The money that you
owe the insurance company for insurance is called your premium. When
you buy the insurance you decide if you want to pay monthly, bi-monthly
or annually, whichever is best for your situation. You can also decide
if you would like the money automatically withdrawn from your account or
if you would like to send in a check. Also if you receive insurance
through work, your employer would pay a part of this premium.
2. Copayments:
the amount you pay out of pocket when you visit a doctors office or
buy a prescription is called the copayment. This money is separate from
the amount you will be billed from the doctors office. The copayment is
paid at the visit. Copayments can vary between $15-$30 depending on
your plan and provider.
3. Coinsurance: Some people get confused between coinsurance and copayments (which we just spoke of). When purchasing Kentucky individual health insurance
you choose from a variety of plans. Some have a percent that you pay
and the percent the insurance company pays after your deductible has
been met. The percent that you are required to pay is called
coinsurance. For example if your plan is a 70%/30% plan your insurance
provider will pay 70% of your medical bills and you will be required to
pay the remaining 30%.
4. Deductible: Your
deductible is the total amount of money you pay out of pocket per year
before your coinsurance kicks in. There is a certain amount that needs
to be met by each individual and then an overall amount that has to be
met by the family as a whole. It is important to know that all the
premiums and copayments you pay during the year do not count toward your
deductible.
5. Out of Pocket Maximum: The out of pocket maximum is the TOTAL amount of money you will pay for your Kentucky health insurance.
Say your out of pocket maximum is $5000. The money you pay toward your
deductible counts toward your out of pocket maximum, as well as the
remaining amount you pay because of your plans coinsurance. Once you
have paid $5000 out of pocket your insurance provider will cover your
remaining costs for that year. You will no longer have to pay
coinsurance on your medical bills once your out of pocket maximum has
been met.
If you understand each of these terms, then you
are ready to start looking for Kentucky individual health insurance.
But, if you still feel that you need help understanding the terms and
how they apply to insurance
, contact an experienced insurance broker to
have him explain them to you more fully. This will help you stay out of
the unfortunate situation of buying the wrong insurance for your state
in life.
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