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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Family Medical Insurance - The Wise Investment

By Clarissa Winegarten

Family medical insurance is a necessity for every family, due to the sky high medical expenditure every year. Due to the stressful lives of the present population, the pollution and unhealthy lifestyle, everyone is in need of medical attention at some point of their lives. Having a medical insurance plan for you and your family saves a lot of trouble during medical emergencies.

Family medical insurance falls under the category of private insurance. This insurance provides coverage for medical bills and preventive medicine for the whole family. The most familiar insurance plan is the managed care program with options such as the HMO and the PPO.

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): This plan is the least expensive and works out well in terms of expenditure. However, before choosing this plan one needs to understand the pros and cons of this plan option. An HMO plan is basically that you have to select your primary health care provider from the insurance company's list of providers. If you do get treatment from anyone else other than them who are not in the list then you would end up paying all or most of the expenses. HMO registered physicians may refer you to specialists, the coverage for that will totally depend on your insurance company or the plan you chose.

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): This insurance plan is more flexible than the HMO, as it allows you to consult any doctor within a network of health care providers. It is not limited to only one PCP (Primary Care Physician) within the network, but any physician within the network, including the specialists if any. The cost of the insurance plan is higher than when compared to the HMO plan. Members of the PPO plan may go to medical professionals who are outside the network, but they'd have to bear a part of the cost.

Another option for a family medical insurance plan is the POS (point-of-service) which is a combination of HMO and PPO.

Various plans and options differ with each city and company. It is up to you to gather all information and make the best choice between them.

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