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
In-Network and Out-of-Network Care

Your plan contracts with a wide range of doctors and other practitioners, as well as hospitals, labs, radiology facilities, pharmacies and other providers. These are the providers in your “network”. Each of these providers has agreed to take your plan´s contracted rate as payment in full for services.

In-Network and Out-of-Network Care
Negotiating Your Costs

Since providers are able to decide how much to charge for out-of-network care, sometimes that charge might be higher than you expected.

Getting Care from a Medical Home

A medical home is a type of doctor´s practice that uses a team to focus on the “whole person”. It is sometimes called a patient-centered medical home (PCMH).

Getting Covered for Alternative Medicine

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.

Managing Costs of Long-Term Care

Long-term care is medical and nonmedical care that you receive for an extended period of time, at home, in your community or in a residential facility. This article will tell you how to manage the costs of long-term care. This article does not provide medical, financial or legal advice.