Insurance from the Insurance companies in the USA will become more expensive in 2020 and the conditions of insurers will change. It is therefore wise to take a close look at your policy every year.
There is a good chance that your current insurance no longer suits you or that you are cheaper elsewhere with the same coverage for the Insurance companies in the USA. To help you choose an appropriate health insurance policy, we have listed essential tips below.
- Don’t blind yourself to a collective discount
A collective discount through your employer, the government or a patient association. It sounds attractive, but beware the discount is a cigar out of its own box. My tip is therefore to examine your collective insurance. Switching to individual health insurance taken out will in many cases be more beneficial. There is no harm in comparing.
- Choose a basic insurance that suits you
The basic insurance is not the same for every insurer. It is therefore important to carefully weigh the price and quality of the basic insurance. Choose a type of insurance that suits you:
- Do you normally never come to the hospital and do you consider a low premium to be more important than a choice of healthcare providers? Then you can consider a budget policy or in-kind policy.
- Do you want a free choice of care with all care providers? Then you can consider a refund policy
The health care comparator shows for each insurer what type of health insurance policy it concerns, which hospitals you can go to and how high the reimbursement is for non-contracted care.
- Only insure what you cannot afford yourself
It is advisable to insure yourself for care that you know you cannot afford yourself, but that you need, for example:
- A large number of physiotherapy treatments
- A bracket for your child
- Expensive dental treatments
In such cases, the premium you pay on an annual basis is much lower than the reimbursement you receive from the insurer for the care provided. It is then cheaper to take out an additional policy. Sometimes it is not sensible and beneficial to insure yourself for care. These are things that you might as well pay yourself, because the costs are very low or the compensation does not outweigh the premium you pay, for example:
- The annual check-up at the dentist
- Oral hygiene
- Birth control
- Glasses and contact lenses
For the above forms of care, the premium you pay on an annual basis is often higher than the reimbursement you receive. So the tip is to always weigh the premium you pay against the compensation you expect to receive on an annual basis. In other words: insurance or pay yourself?
- Make a comparison for yourself
Care wishes differ from person to person. It is therefore smart to do a separate comparison for each person in your family. There is actually no advantage to the fact that you and your partner have the same insurance. In fact, this is often disadvantageous. Therefore, consult the care comparator per person and not for yourself and your partner at the same time. It is not surprising if you are each affiliated with a different insurer. It is also smart to insure your child with the parent who has the most insurance, because the child can use the coverage in this package for free.
- Pay the premium annually
By paying the premium in one goes, you save about 2 percent on the costs. For a family of two people, each with ample additional insurance, this can save around 70 euros per year. This is not possible with all insurers.
- Save on additional insurance
Is it not enough just the basic insurance? Then you can also opt for additional insurance. This allows you, for example, to receive reimbursements for the dentist at high costs. So take a good look at what you need next year. Below you will find a few tips for choosing additional insurance.
Save on your dental insurance
If you only go for a consultation every year or every six months, it is better not to co-insure the dental costs. The premium exceeds the cost of the dentist in that case. Do you visit the dentist more often for a more expensive procedure?
Save on physiotherapy
If exercise is not your daily hobby but you still feel fit, you may not need to take out physiotherapy insurance. But in that case you may also need physiotherapy. Are you a bit older or a real sports fan? Perhaps additional insurance is then really necessary. Do you expect high costs for physiotherapy? Then adjust the health insurance to this.
Save on your glasses or contact lenses
Do you have glasses or contact lenses, but are there no other things for which you need additional coverage? Do not insure your glasses.
Why?
The additional insurance for glasses and lenses is usually bundled with other coverage and reimbursements such as physiotherapy or foreign coverage. You pay a premium for each of the reimbursements. So if you only want additional insurance for the glasses, you also pay a lot of premium for cover that you are not going to use. This usually makes it cheaper to pay for the glasses yourself than to receive a reimbursement through a health insurer.
Insure your family members
Do you have children under 18? Then insure them in the parent’s policy with the most extensive coverage. This way your child is best insured for free. Are you 18 or older? Then compare and choose the cheapest insurance.
Conclusion
For example, do you have continuous travel insurance including medical costs abroad? Then you are often already insured for unexpected healthcare costs in Europe or worldwide. It is therefore wise to see whether additional health insurance is required for this.
