Indemnity health insurance plans provide a unique advantage to those who are looking for more flexibility in their healthcare coverage. These plans allow you to choose a doctor, hospital and specialist of your choice without having to worry about network restrictions or other limitations. With indemnity health insurance plans, you can take control of your medical care and make sure that you are receiving the best care possible.
Indemnity health insurance plans are more regularly known as traditional health insurance plans. These health insurance plans can be costly but often cover most health problems that may arise, while other insurance plans exclude some illnesses or diseases from their coverage. Some disadvantages to indemnity plans are that they do not usually cover preventative health care like physicals, and traditional health insurance plans often cover only a percentage of your bill. Research the advantages and disadvantages of indemnity health insurance when you are considering health insurance options.
While the disadvantages may seem problematic, there are many advantages to indemnity health insurance plans. You may have a higher monthly premium and need to pay upfront costs and submit claims paperwork. Still, your deductible will be more manageable, and your coverage will be more comprehensive. Some health insurance plans will not cover certain medical expenses or care, but indemnity plans often do.
Another benefit of indemnity health insurance plans that many people desire is the freedom to choose your physician. While other health insurance plans the insurance industry offers to limit your choice of physicians and hospitals to a list of preferred providers, indemnity insurance will cover any physician or hospital. This benefit may seem unworthy of mention, but there has been more than one instance where a mother finds that her son or daughter’s pediatrician is not in their preferred provider network and has to search for another pediatrician. This also means you can see a specialist without consulting your primary care physician first.
Overall, indemnity health insurance plans also offer you the best emergency medical coverage in the industry. While preferred provider organizations (PPOs) or point-of-service (POS) plans limit, the physician you can see to a list of network physicians and hospitals, the freedom of choosing any physician is nationwide with indemnity health insurance plans. If you travel across the country with an accident or a medical emergency, you can go to the nearest hospital or see the closest physician without worrying about the expense. There have been instances where hospitals or physicians will either refuse to treat patients or treat them only minimally because the hospital or physician is not inside the plan’s preferred provider network – meaning that the patient’s health insurance will only cover a small part of the expense. The patient is liable to pay the rest of the bill. This is a risky financial situation for the physician and hospital since patients often cannot fully pay costly medical bills. With indemnity health insurance plans, this is rarely the case. Consider this and the other benefits of indemnity health insurance when choosing the right strategy.
