Insurance Basics: Home
Preventive services, such as vaccines and screenings, can help you avoid certain diseases and catch others in their early stages, to limit the harm they can cause.
Thanks to a law passed in the spring of 2020, most Americans can be tested for COVID-19 for free. But that law didn’t make treatment for the virus free. Medical services for COVID-19 can be costly and sometimes run into tens of thousands of dollars. Whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19, you can take steps now to understand your protections under the law and manage the costs of your treatment.
Health insurance protects you from paying the full cost of your care. But, you will likely still have to pay some money out of your pocket. Almost all plans call for “cost sharing”. That means your insurer pays for part of your care, and you pay for part.
Being covered under two health plans doesn't mean the two plans will pay the same amount twice for the same doctor visit. Instead, the plans follow rules about which plan pays what, known as "coordination of benefits."
If you or someone close to you has opioid use disorder, also called opioid addiction, you aren’t
alone. The United States is in the middle of an opioid crisis. Find out about how you can afford treatment—no matter
what your income level is—and about resources for support.
Acupuncture, chiropractic care and massage therapy have one thing in common: They may not be covered by insurance. That’s because they may be looked at as alternative treatments, not part of conventional medical care.