|
individual health insurance plans
Are any pre-existing medical conditions covered?
Those who would like supplemental services may purchase them from the HMO only as an addition to the basic health care services that the HMO provides.Co-payments. HMO members may be charged only nominal amounts for basic services in additional to the original monthly payments. In some cases there may be no additional payments for services. All details are spelled out in a descriptive document which is known as either the certificate of coverage or evidence of coverage.
Some employers offer short- and long-term disability coverage. If you are self-employed, you can buy individual disability income insurance policies. Generally: Monthly benefits are usually 60 percent of your income at the time of purchase, although cost-of-living adjustments may be available.
Consumer Cooperatives. There are two different types of cooperatives. They are consumer cooperatives and producer cooperatives. Producer cooperatives include companies like Blue Cross/Blue shield and some Health Maintenance Organizations which we will discuss further on.
If you have had health coverage as an employee benefit and you leave your job, voluntarily or otherwise, one of your first concerns will be maintaining protection against the costs of health care. You can do this in one of several ways:
Prohibitive practices. In addition to non-discrimination against group members based on their health status during enrollment, HMOs are not allowed to cancel or dis-enroll members because of their current health status or the amount of usage of health services. HMOs are also not allowed to use words that may imply that the HMO provides insurance in the traditional manner.
|
