Ben Keel: "A traditional
plan is
what we had in this country for probably the first 50 or 60
years that health insurance really became a viable option,
and a traditional plan basically just says that there's a deductible;
you pay the deductible, then the insurance company starts paying
their share. Then along came PPOs and they're
called Preferred Provider Organizations, or
some companies call them Participating Provider Organizations,
but it basically says if you use "my doctor, my hospital,"
you get a better deal. They started out paying 100% of the
bill after the deductible, and now the most common is they'll
pay 80% of the bill, and that's called Co-Insurance;
that's where the individual and the insurance company share
the cost. With Co-Insurance they'll pay 80%, you pay 20% or
if you go out of network they don't give you quite as good
a deal. You can still go see a doctor or hospital outside the
network, however your deductible may double as most companies
do, and instead of paying 80% of the bill they may only pay
60% of the bill; you'll pay 40%, until you hit your OOP -- Out
of Pocket Maximum. Once you hit your Out of Pocket
Maximum, then they pay 100% of the bill. An HMO - Health
Maintenance Organization - says 'my doctor, my
hospital' or you don't have coverage." There are exceptions.
Click to listen (upper right) to hear more from Ben Keel, or
call him today.
Click to listen as Katy Texas insurance
specialist Ben Keel discusses the basics - Insurance 101:
To learn more about the insurance basics you need
to know call Ben Keel today at 281-392-2900,
or toll free: 1-877-Ben-Keel
Helpful Insurance Terms: HMO - Health Maintenance Organization PPO - Preferred Provider Organization HRA - Health Reimbursement Account CDHP - Consumer Directed Health Plan RHU - Registered Health Underwriter
Q - Let's talk about disability insurance
a bit, and what kind of insurance do you call AFLAC? A - Click to listen to Ben's answer as he
discusses supplemental insurance, disability, and compares
the two: