Why You Need a Thorough Understanding of Your Healthcare Coverage

Healthcare is a very confusing space. There is so much jargon and acronyms flying around that it can be difficult to know what you need or how you fit into the system.

If you have recently signed up for healthcare or are planning on doing so soon, there are some important things you need to understand before signing up with a plan. 

To ensure you understand what type of coverage you need and how it will impact your life moving forward, let's review some key components of any healthcare plan.

What Type of Coverage Is Right for You?

When researching different healthcare plans, you'll find that each one has a different type of coverage. The type of coverage is important because it can determine your out-of-pocket costs and the level of access to healthcare services. 

Generally, there are two main types of plans that you'll find are offered. Some plans offer a certain number of doctor’s visits and other healthcare needs for a monthly or yearly premium. 

These plans usually have a deductible that you must meet before the plan kicks in. Other plans cover only specific health needs, such as hospitalization.

Your Deductible

If you have a typical health insurance plan, the deductible is the amount you will need to pay out-of-pocket before your insurance plan kicks in. 

You can think of your deductible as the amount of money you will need to pay out of pocket to receive services—the higher your deductible, the lower the premium of your monthly payment. 

However, if you don’t often need healthcare, this higher deductible may mean that you end up paying for a health insurance plan you never benefit from because you don’t meet your deductible.

Co-payments

Co-payments are what you will need to pay for each service that you receive after meeting your deductible. Co-payments differ from deductibles in that they can vary depending on the type of service that you receive. 

It's important to know that the more you receive services, the higher your co-payment may be. If you have an expensive ailment and need many services, your co-payment will be higher. If you have a low co-payment, it's important to be mindful of not overusing the system.

Why Is Healthcare So Complicated?

Healthcare, as it is currently structured, is complicated. Many factors determine a healthcare plan's price and each service's cost. 

To understand how these factors impact your costs, you need someone who can break things down. For example, America's Healthcare Advocate brings together various experts, healthcare providers, and business and industry leaders who try to break down health insurance and make it easier for everyone to understand. 

This can be a great way to get more information and better understand how health insurance works, what you’re paying for, and how to save money.

Healthcare is complicated because it can be difficult to understand what types of plans are available and what services are covered. It's also a very expensive industry attempting to provide a valuable service while making a profit. 

With all these factors at play, it's not surprising that healthcare is so complicated. However, once you understand the various components of healthcare and the coverage available, it can be a lot easier to navigate the system and ensure you are prepared for what lies ahead.

4 Key Tactics for Reducing your Health Insurance Premiums

No one wants to think about getting sick, but we are all aware of the unfortunate fact that unforeseeable accidents and diseases can creep up on even the most healthy individual. Healthcare costs continue to rise worldwide, and most people simply can’t afford paying such expensive out-of-pocket hospital fees, which is why they secure health insurance in order to offset these costs with their policy. 

With health insurance premiums increasing year-on-year, plans can be quite costly, but there are ways to reduce these costs. This article by insurance advisor Pacific Prime Global Health Insurance Brokers guides you through some of the key tactics for reducing your health insurance premiums. 

First, take a look at your existing plan

If your current plan is too expensive or has increased in price drastically over the years, you may want to get rid of coverage elements that you definitely won’t need. By removing some of these benefits, this will help lower your premiums.

You may also want to review any changing circumstances when looking at cutting down on coverage benefits. For example, say your spouse has found a new job with an excellent medical benefits package. If that’s the case, you may want to consider dropping your spouse as a dependant in your current policy, as this will likely see a significant decrease in the rate of your plan.

Looking at the types of health insurance coverage

Plans tend to differ in the elements of coverage they offer, and these are often divided into the following three types:

Inpatient: This covers care that requires hospital stays only, and won’t cover for outpatient care such as check-ups. As this comes with the least amount of coverage, inpatient-only plans tend to be the cheapest.

Inpatient and outpatient: This covers both inpatient care and outpatient care. If you rarely ever need to visit a doctor, you may want to strip out the outpatient benefit to save some money on your health insurance.

Full coverage: This includes inpatient and outpatient coverage, as well as extra add-on benefits such as maternity or vision insurance. For example, if you’re sure you won’t be having a baby anytime soon and are currently covered by maternity insurance, you may want to take out this benefit. However, please bear in mind that if you do need maternity insurance, this will need to be secured at least 10-12 months before the baby is conceived as these plans have waiting periods.

Adjusting your co-payment or deductible

Another viable option for reducing your premiums is to introduce or adjust a co-payment or deductible to your plan. The general rule is that the higher your co-payment or deductible is, the lower your premiums will be.

Co-payments are an agreed fixed amount that you will need to pay every time you submit a claim, for example agreeing to pay $50 towards every medical procedure. You can also consider paying a deductible, which is an amount you have to pay each year or for each claim before it can be submitted. 

Get your No Claims Discount

If you’re shopping around for a plan, have a look at whether they have what’s called a ‘No Claims Discount’ (NCD). Insurance plans with a NCD policy will apply a discount if you go a certain period of time, usually a year, without filing any claims. 

Many policies will increase the discount (up to a maximum amount) for every year that you don’t file a claim. However, if you do file a claim, you will see your NCD drop. Each policy will have different NCD rules, so it is important to know what exactly they entail. 

Consult an insurance broker

Some people still believe the myth that insurance intermediaries charge higher rates for plans, but this could not be further from the truth. Licensed insurance advisors like Pacific Prime Singapore leverage their close relationships with insurance companies to provide rates that are often more competitive than going to an insurance company directly.

By consulting a broker, not only will you enjoy competitive rates, but you will also benefit from:

A wealth of expertise: These people work with insurance daily, and are trained to provide you with unbiased advice based on their wealth of experience.

Time saved: Shopping for plans can be daunting, and doing research is simply time consuming. Insurance brokers do the work and research for you, so that you can just sit back, relax, and let them handle the rest.

Plans tailored to your needs: There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to insurance policies, so brokers are dedicated to finding the best plan for you based on your specific needs and budget requirements.

Additional services: For even more added-value, you can also enjoy the additional services (e.g. in-house renewals teams) typically provided by insurance brokers.

About Pacific Prime Singapore:
If you are looking for the best value health insurance plans on the market, why not visit Pacific Prime Singapore’s Insurance Plans page to purchase your plan today? Their team of experienced insurance advisors offer a wealth of experience that you can rely on.