Family Health Insurance

Getting family health insurance should be a priority for mothers and fathers. Due to the high cost of medical bills, even if you and your family are in relatively good health, one emergency can set you back thousands of dollars.

Family Health Insurance: Group/Employer Policies

Insurance is frequently offered through employers, especially large employers. For a fee, usually taken directly out of your paycheck, you can sign yourself and your family up for Medical Insurance. Even with group policies, employees can expect to pay around 25 percent of the costs out-of-pocket, depending on the plan and insurer. Before signing up for an employee policy, it is important to know what is covered and what is not. This will save you from unexpected and unpleasant surprises in the future.

When accepting a job with group health benefits, a waiting period usually ensues. Typically this period is anywhere from immediate acceptance to around 90 or 120 days. The same waiting period usually applies for spousal coverage and sometimes children’s coverage. Before adding a spouse and children, compare plans if your spouse is eligible for family health insurance, too. Coverage and rates can vary greatly from employer to employer, depending on the policies offered and companies they are offered through.

Typical family plans will cover most pregnancy bills, and as long as the newborn is added within an acceptable time frame, the child will be covered for his/her expenses as well. Once the children near the age of 18, you should check with your provider to see when their coverage expires. Some companies will cover full-time college students, while others let you keep any child on their insurance plan (usually for a higher fee) until the ages of 21 or 25. Knowing this can help keep your child insured after high school or college graduation.

Getting a summary of your plan from your employer or the insurance company is the best way to find out about co-payments, deductibles, and what is and is not included in plans. For example, some policies require an individual deductible to be met before the family deductible.

Typically excluded items include:

• Over-the-counter or non-prescription medications
• ”Comfort” items like pillows or humidifiers
• Cosmetic and sex-change operations
• Elective abortions
• Experimental treatments or drugs

Family health insurance plans may also include a “cap” on certain procedures, or have strict rules regarding their coverage. This may include procedures like invetro fertilization or certain transplants. Checking your family health insurance summary will provide you the best answers to these questions.

Additionally, you should check to see what, if any, coverage is provided for retirement.

Purchasing Family Health Insurance

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to have a job where they are provided with health insurance coverage. Several options are available for people in those situations. Types of health insurance to shop for include:

• Service-plans like Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
• Preferred provider organizations (PPOs)
• Purchasing through an organization like alumni clubs, professional or trade unions, or credit unions
• Federal or state government programs like Medicaid or Medicare (restrictions usually apply for qualification)

Before purchasing family health insurance, you should ask the company or agent the following questions:

• Will the coverage include chronic or pre-existing conditions?
• Can I change coverage if I need or choose to do so?
• What limits are there on hospitals, physicians, and pharmacies?
• Which programs are easiest to deal with?
• Is my current doctor covered under the program?

While purchasing plans yourself can be expensive, a bonus is that you can tailor your insurance needs and coverage through the company of your choice. To cut down on costs, you may consider having a higher deductible if you and your family have been in good health. This will result in a lower premium.

Quotes Online

Checking family health insurance quotes online is a good way to start comparison shopping for a plan, if you need to purchase one yourself. Beware the sites that ask you to provide a social security number, because they may run a credit check. Running too many credit checks can actually hurt your credit score. Additionally, do not use sites that ask for phone numbers unless you are prepared to receive calls regarding their insurance and calls from any affiliates.

Things to expect to answer online include: age, weight, tobacco use, height, zip code, spousal information, children information, and a short medical history. The medical history will include information regarding family background, any diagnosis like cancer, and medications.

Places to start checking include einsurance.com, insure.com, and healthinsurance.com for comparison rates. Or, you can check on individual company websites like Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Remember though, online quote are just an estimate. Some companies require a medical exam or full medical history to be completed before giving you an actual rate. Lying or not fully answering questions can affect your rates and coverage. Make sure you fully understand your coverage before signing up for a program. You may want to request a coverage summary or to speak to an agent before choosing an insurance company.

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