2012 Lowcountry Health Care Directory
Your insurance questions W
answered
hen it comes to buying personal health insurance, the choices can often be confusing. Do you go with a high deductible and a low premium or vice versa? Comprehensive care or catastrophic insurance coverage? A PPO or HMO? Janet Cully, of Harbour Health Insurance Solutions on Hilton Head Island, recently took some time to talk to Monthly about shopping for health insurance.
Where does one start when looking to buy health insurance?
By sally mahan
What is managed care?
With an HMO, or health maintenance organization, you have a doctor who is in the list of network providers. Referrals from that doctor to a specialist are required. These plans have lower premiums. With a PPO, or preferred provider, you may be able to seek care from a doctor or hospital that is not a preferred provider, but you will probably have to pay a higher deductible or co-payment. Is there such a thing as too much insurance coverage?
We usually start by asking what you have used in past. You should also go back over the last year and look at what medical expenses you had and then project that forward. Will you need prescription coverage, vision, dental and other types of coverage? We can then tailor-make a plan to fit your needs. Is it better to have a high deductible and low premium or a low deductible and high premium? It really depends on each person on a case-by-case basis. You might want a low prescription co-pay, so you’d want a lower deductible. If you just want catastrophic coverage, it will be a high deductible. That’s great for the younger generation because it provides for major medical expenses like a hospitalization. But you will want a low deductible if you’re planning to have surgery or a baby or something like one of those situations. How can consumers lower their premium? If you’re in a group plan at work or have a personal plan, you can take advantage of plan changes and preventative discounts. With individual plans, there are options to increase the deductible and lower the premium.
How to get help
For information on insurers and licensing, medical insurance plans, tips, your rights as a consumer, Medicare issues and much more, visit the South Carolina Department of Insurance at doi.sc.gov, call 803-737-6160, or email info@doi.sc.gov 2
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Yes, you can be over-insured. We help make sure the user isn’t buying everything out there. We don’t want you to buy any type of coverage that will double-insure you, for instance. We also want to make sure, however, that you’re getting added value and discounts and that you’re not getting insurance that you won’t need. What do consumers often forget when it comes to paying for health care? First, if they buy A high-deductible plan, they should definitely open a health savings account. We always recommend that for tax savings. Also, a lot of people look into medical, dental and vision, but not disability, which should be a priority. How often should consumers review their coverage? Annually, but you can do it more than once a year. Either way, you definitely want to look at your coverage options and make sure your benefits are keeping up with your needs. Why should consumers use an insurance company rather than just going online and buying insurance? We provide someone to talk to, someone who can help change your plan as needed, and also help you understand the process. You might get the bottom number online, but we point things out, explain benefits and go through your coverage with you and help you compare plans and explain. Finally, we are there to help and provide great customer service.
hiltonheadmonthly.com
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4/24/12 8:18:15 PM