FEATURES OF THE THREE MOST COMMONLY USED AFFORDABLE 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 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.