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Health Insurance Structure

Decent Essays

• Explain the basic structure of health insurance and analyze its most important part.
Health insurance covers the cost of medical and surgical expenses. Depending on the coverage, the insured will either pay costs-out-of-pocket and is then reimbursed, or make payments directly to the provider. The "provider" is a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, health care practitioners, or pharmacy. The "insured" is the person with the health insurance coverage (MediLexicon International Ltd, 2015).
There are many types of different types of insurance plan and programs that an individual can choose from, including the ones found in the new health care exchanges. One choice is a managed care plan. This type of health insurance program coordinates the financing and delivery of health care services for its members in order to …show more content…

You can choose between an HMO or a PPO each time you receive medical care. These plans offer more flexibility in choosing doctors and hospitals.
Indemnity (fee-for-service) plans are different from managed care plans. You can choose any doctor you want. Payment is due at the time of service. Out-of-pocket expenses could be higher than some managed care plans (MediLexicon International Ltd, 2015).
• Public (government) health insurance - for this type to be called insurance, premiums need to be collected, even though the coverage is provided by the state (MediLexicon International Ltd, 2015). For example, Medicare is a federal government program for individuals 65 and older, as well as individuals with disabilities or health problems, such as end-stage renal disease, and Medicaid which is a federal plus state program for low-income individuals, SCHIP which provide coverage for children and families who cannot afford private insurance, but do not qualify for Medicaid. Other public health insurance programs in the USA include TRICARE, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Indian Health Service (MediLexicon International Ltd,

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