While most health insurance policies are issued through and subsidized by employers as part of an employee’s health benefits, people who have lost their jobs, have jobs that don’t offer insurance or have decided to work for themselves often choose individual health plans to ensure they’re covered.
There are some advantages to purchasing your own health coverage; for example, you can scale back coverage to only the necessities in order to save money on monthly premiums. And you often have more options in choosing your health care policy than when you were receiving employer-provided benefits.
Individuals purchasing a health plan can choose between indemnity plans (also known as fee-for-service plans), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point-of-service (POS) plans and even health savings accounts (HSAs). This freedom to choose between various health plans available at a variety of price points can result in finding the best plan that’s most tailored to your specific needs.
Another option to consider if you have lost your job and want to continue your current health coverage is COBRA, which grants individuals meeting certain criteria the ability to continue their health insurance policy from their prior job, generally for up to 18 months. Coverage for COBRA participants is usually more expensive than health coverage for active employees, however, since COBRA participants generally pay the entire premium themselves.
Paying for individual health insurance may seem like an unnecessary cost to some, but since emergency medical care, unexpected operations and hospital stays are so expensive, maintaining health coverage while unemployed or self-employed can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
Richard Monello is the President and CEO of Custom Health Plans, a full-service Texas health insurance agency offering the most cost-effective and affordable health insurance solutions for individuals, families, small businesses and the self-employed.
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