Salient Features Of The Three Most Commonly Used Health Insurance Plans In Practice
A brief view of
health insurance from the perspective of
employees reveal that health insurance perhaps
remains as the top most benefit while negotiating
employment terms with their employers. On the
other hand, the employers too gain a lot through
the offer of various health insurance plans
as it provides tax benefits as well as serves
as a cost-effective means to compensate employees.
The Two
Major Types Of Health Insurance
The most common types of health insurance plans
include the traditional, HMO, and the PPO, each
of which has their own utility for both the
employees as well as the employers. Though a
majority of the employers only offer one or
two of the said health insurance plans, there
are employers who offer all three types of plans
for their employees.
The Traditional Form of health
insurance plan perhaps offers maximum flexibility
to the employees, as each individual has the
choice of visiting any physician/doctor and
receive treatment under the said policy. However,
there are disadvantages as well, as the traditional
health insurance plans are by far the most expensive
as compared to the other two plans. The major
aspect of being expensive is the high amount
of deductibles, which the employee has to pay
whenever he or she visits a physician or doctor.
The HMO on the other hand offers
a network of doctors and physicians all of who
are paid for by the employers. These health
care professionals are paid a specified amount
of fee for their health services covered under
the respective insurance plan.
A Preferred
Provider Organization or PPO, is a system
of health insurance where health care professionals,
hospitals and other health care providers agree
to provide a set of health care services to
the employees of an organization in return for
a fraction of the cost of the treatment or visits.
Since these health care professionals work under
a network, individuals wishing to obtain health
care outside the parameters of these PPOs will
have to pay higher sums to the respective doctors
and hospitals.
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