Health Insurance
This section is about the kind of Health Insurance that covers doctors and hospitals. It's the kind that is frequently offered at work, although individual policies are also available. Other names for this coverage are Comprehensive or Major Medical. Some policies may also cover Dental or Prescription Drugs, which we'll cover separately.
Health insurance helps you with the high cost of medical care in two ways. First, by providing coverage for specific health care services, and second, most plans today have contracted rates which are much lower than you can get on your own. Although you generally pay a monthly premium, deductibles and either co-payments or co-insurance, the cost for insurance is far less than medical care would be if you paid it all yourself (out-of-pocket). At the same time, health insurance protects you from the overwhelming cost of a major illness or injury.
We have provided brief descriptions for medical care paid through a government program such as Medicare, Medicaid, or the Veterans Administration (VA). Additional information is available on various government web sites.
Facts are, insurance ratings are really dependent on the notion that some people are higher risk than others.
Patrick J. Kennedy