Insurance Basics: Home

Choosing a Health Plan

Your employer may offer more than one health plan, or you may be shopping for your own individual plan.

Choosing a Health Plan
How to Deal with COVID-19 Medical Costs

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.

How to Deal with COVID-19 Medical Costs
Planning Your Costs Based on Where You Get Care

Your plan may have different rules and costs for different healthcare settings. In any setting, you may have to pay a copay, and in some cases, coinsurance. But, these may be waived for preventive services like flu shots and mammograms.

Insured and Self-Insured Plans

Employers offer health coverage to their workers in several ways. Some buy an “off the shelf” plan from a commercial insurance company.

NY State of Health

NY State of Health is New York´s official online healthcare Marketplace. Individuals, families and small business owners in New York can use NY State of Health to compare health plans, and join the one that best meets their needs.

When Out-of-Network Care Can be Covered In Network

Receiving care from a provider in your health plan´s network usually costs you much less than going to an out-of-network provider.