Health Insurance Carriers

By: EconomyWatch Content   Date: 18 February 2010

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There is a huge number of health insurance carriers out there which may confuse most people who want to buy a reliable health insurance plan. There are over 150 insurers in the US. Considering the fierce competition in the market, most of the health insurance products offer similar features. To choose the best out of so many health insurance plans becomes a task that requires careful browsing and scanning of the contract sheets.

 

The Indemnity Policy of Health Insurance Carriers

To be an insurer, an organization must obtain a license from the regulating authorities to be a valid player. The license must also enable them to market their product.

Technically, they aim to make money in two ways:

·        By collecting premium.

·        By investing the collected premium in money or stock market, directly or indirectly.

 

However, the indemnity process differs from one insurer to another. Though both the processes end with same effect, the approach differs.

 

Let’s have a look at the two main approaches:

·        The reimbursing approach: Health insurance carriers offer options that require you to make the payments up front and later reimburse the amount excluding the co-payment amount. This may not be suitable for people, who are short on cash.

·        Pay on your behalf approach: Once the insured experiences a specified peril, he/she can approach a third party for assistance and under this contract, the insurance company makes payments directly to the third party with any out of pocket cost on the insured.

 

Remember, it is vital to check the contract for the indemnity clause and watch out for the exclusionary clause that specifies the medical conditions that are excluded. Also, enquire about the extent of customer satisfaction through various consumer protection forums, Better Business Bureau or similar local bodies. It is not uncommon to see a few unattended complaints but identify the reasons of the complaints to have a clearer picture.  

A Few Popular Health Insurance Carriers

There are many carriers with an excellent credit rating by agencies such as Moody’s. Some of these are:

  • Aetna, Humana, and Kaiser Permanente
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield plans
  • Golden Rule Health Insurance
  • Oxford Health Plans
  • Pacificare Health Insurance.

For reliable health insurance carriers, your search can begin with these aforementioned names.  


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