Insurance Basics: Home
Your employer may offer more than one health plan, or you may be shopping for your own individual plan.
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.
After you visit a provider, you may get a bill telling you how much you have to pay.
Anesthesia is used to block pain, relax you or control how awake you are. It is used during surgery or other complex procedures. You may need anesthesia even if you´re not in an operating room.
If you´re a woman, you have different healthcare needs than men. Women may need access to birth control, or prenatal and maternity care.