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
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.

Planning Your Costs Based on Where You Get Care
Cost Sharing

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.

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).

Out-of-Network Docs at In-Network Facilities

Suppose you receive care in a hospital that is in your health plan´s provider network. You may still get a bill from providers who treated you at the hospital but are not part of your plan´s network.

Finding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

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.