Types of Health Insurance

Health insurance comes in all shapes and sizes, and the best plan depends on what your specific needs, which should be kept in mind when buying health insurance. There are:

• Fee-for-service plans
• Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
• Preferred provider organizations (PPO)
• Traditional indemnity plans HMOs and PPOs tend to have lower premiums.

In exchange for the lower premiums, it must be agreed upon to seek service from a defined group of providers and only see specialists upon receiving a referral from your primary care physician. Fee-for-service and indemnity plans offer you the freedom to see who you want, when you want, without having to obtain referrals. But this flexibility generally comes at the expense of higher premiums.