There are several types of insurance available. The following types of coverage are common:
? Basic, which includes:
- coverage for the hospital room and board, nursing care, lab tests, X rays, operating rooms, drugs, and medicines taken in the hospital and the ambulance ride to get you there;
- surgical expense coverage for surgeons' fees; and
- regular medical coverage to pay doctors' fees for nonsurgical care.
? Major medical, which is a backup plan for larger, unpredictable costs that are not covered under a basic plan. It might have a lifetime limit of $25,000 to $1,000,000.
? Comprehensive, which has a very broad range of services and high policy limits. It combines both basic and major medical into one policy. Comprehensive is the most common type of medical insurance and is usually less expensive than if you bought its components separately.
Some health insurance policies allow people to select their own physicians and health service providers without prior approval. Other policies require that the individual see providers only within a certain network unless special permission is granted. It is important to understand both what is covered under a health insurance policy and to whom one may go for care under that policy's rules.
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