Finding a new health plan can be challenging. We have tips to make it easier.
How do I get a health insurance plan?
Most people get health insurance in one of four ways:
- Ask your employer if they offer a health plan for employees.
- Ask your spouse’s employer if you can join their plan.
- Stay on your parent’s plan until you’re 26.
- Buy a plan through an insurance company, HMO, or on HealthCare.gov.
How do I choose health insurance?
Start by looking at the benefits. Those are the health care services and treatments the plan covers. If you have medical or mental health issues, you want to be sure the plan pays for those.
Also look at the cost. Ask about the premium, copay, coinsurance, and deductible. Those are the costs you’ll pay for your care.
Finally, make sure the plan lets you see your doctors and specialists. Some plans use networks of doctors, so you want to ask if your doctors are in the network.
What other tips do you have to find health insurance?
Shop around. If you went to HealthCare.gov to look for a plan last year, look again. New plans join every year, so there might be more plans. And, again, check your plans to see if you can see your doctors and if the plan covers the prescriptions you take.
How can I avoid health insurance fraud?
Watch out for these red flags:
- An agent is pressuring or hurrying you to buy a plan.
- An agent calls you out of the blue without you asking for a call.
- Anyone asks for your personal information, banking information, Social Security number, Medicare number.
- The price of the health plan is very low.
What deadlines do I need to know about?
Open enrollment is the time of the year when you can shop for a new health plan or change plans. If you want coverage to start January 1, buy a plan by December 15. If you want coverage to start February 1, buy a plan by January 15.
