Best Health Insurance Plans For Family: What You Need To Know

Buying a health insurance policy for your family is vital, not only because you love them and want to see them healthy, but also to avoid burdensome healthcare costs that can disrupt your lives. Medical treatments and hospitalization costs are at an all-time high in America and will likely go higher. It’s prudent to secure family’s health and wellness beforehand with a health insurance policy that fits your family’s budget and medical needs.

This blog discusses the most important things to know that can help with choosing the best health insurance plans for your family. We delve into everything, from coverage and benefits to the insurer's network. We aim to help you find affordable family health coverage that does not deviate much from the average cost of healthcare insurance for a family of four.

5 critical things to know to choose the best health insurance plans for your family

Here’s what to keep in mind when choosing a healthcare insurance plan:

Insurance coverage and benefits

Check each policy’s coverage and benefits, and choose one whose sum insured can sufficiently cover your medical costs. With the increasing cost of medical services, opt for a high sum insured, but remember that a prominent figure also results in high premiums.

The best health insurance plan for your family should also have a broad coverage scope, including maternity, diagnostic tests, surgery, hospitalization, ambulance charges, and post-hospitalization costs. If there are senior citizens in your family, check to see if the policy caters to age-related illnesses and chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and kidney disease.

Keep an eye on the limits and sub-limits of the cover. For example, some health insurance plans place sub-limits on room occupancy, especially if the sum insured is low. The sub-limit restricts your overall coverage such that if you’re in a hospital room with a higher cost than the set sub-limit, your insurer can proportionately reduce your inpatient claims. Similarly, if a plan has limits, there is an upper ceiling of the amount allowed. So, look out for limits and sub-limits, especially in commonly applicable areas like OPD expenses, maternity, organ donor expenses, and domiciliary treatments.

Insurance premiums and deductibles

The second feature to consider when choosing the best health insurance plans for your family are the premiums and deductibles. A premium is the scheduled amount you pay to the insurer each month to have health insurance, while a deductible is the amount you pay before your healthcare insurance kicks in. Choose a plan with affordable premiums and deductibles, whose cost ranges around the average cost of health insurance for a family of four or more.

Policy’s waiting period

The waiting period varies between insurers, usually lasting 30-90 days. However, note that pre-existing illnesses have a separate waiting period, ranging from 12 to 48 months. You may not receive benefits for claims you file during the waiting period, but when it elapses, you can file your claims and receive benefits. The time it takes for your policy to come on matters, especially if someone in your family has a pre-existing condition. If so, the best health insurance plans for your family are those with shorter waiting periods.

Insurer’s provider network

Each health insurance provider has a group of healthcare providers, and hospitals contracted to service their policyholders. The provider network can influence how much you pay for healthcare services because receiving care within the network can keep your out-of-pocket costs low while going outside of your network could raise costs. The best health insurance plans for your family will have a vast network to increase accessibility to services and save you on out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare services.

The claims process

The claims process is the process of verifying your copay, annual deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses incurred. After the insurer verifies your claim, the healthcare services are rendered under your insurance plan. It helps to have an insurer with a hassle-free claims process and a short turnaround time for settlements. Good customer service also eases the claims process in case of hiccups. So, read customers' reviews to learn about their experience with each policy.

Get help choosing the best health insurance plans for your family

The average cost of health insurance for a family of four or more in America pales in comparison to the cost of out-of-pocket care. As such, buying health insurance for your family is essential, to help cover a significant part of healthcare costs. Choosing the right health insurance coverage for your family requires careful consideration and LendMeMoney.com has the resources you need to decide, including a list of the best health insurance plans for an American family. Contact us today and get the best offer.