Travel Insurance

Personal health coverage offers benefits for medical care. Prescription assistance programs may be included in some policies. Several plans may possibly provide for payment of medical charges incurred on a reimbursement basis by paying benefits to the plan owner, payment on a service basis by paying those who supply the services directly, or payment of an indemnity by paying a fixed sum regardless of the amount charged for medical expenses. Medical expense or hospitalization coverage might be issued on an individual or group basis. Many of these programs will provide prescription help.

Although there are several types of benefits offered, private medical expense insurance will generally be categorized as basic health expense insurance, major medical insurance, comprehensive medical insurance, and special programs. These policies should cover prescriptions because prescription drugs help so many patients. Most of these programs have by and large been replaced by managed care options and are no longer offered as stand-alone programs. These types of programs have been modified and replaced in response to changes in the health care field relative to cost containment and market competition.

Basic coverage provided by a individual health expense policy includes hospital expense, surgical expense and medical expense. These 3 basics may be sold as one or separately. Frequently this is issued as “first dollar” coverage, which means it does not contain a deductible.

Like the name implies, hospital expense health insurance offers benefits for visits incurred for the period of hospitalization. Hospital indemnities are by and large classified into two broad categories:

• Room and board, with nursing care and special diets

• Miscellaneous health expenses, as well as x-rays, laboratory fees, prescription medication, medical supplies, and operating and treatment rooms

In a number of cases, surgical benefits can be included for specific types of surgery and related expenses. Hospital expense coverage provides benefits for daily hospital room and board and various hospital bills while the insured person is confined to the hospital. The policy can provide for a certain dollar amount for the daily hospital room and board benefit, even though the trend is toward health insurance of not more than the semiprivate room charge unless a private room is medically required. The room and board benefit may well be paid on either an indemnity basis or a reimbursement basis, depending on the particular plan.

Indemnity plans are on occasion called dollar amount policies. Room and board rates differ by geographic location, however it is not rare to find room and board rates ranging from $200  to $650  per day or more.

By and large, the maximum number of days is from 20  to 450 . More frequently, room and board expenses are paid on a reimbursement basis. also referred to as an expenses-incurred basis~This is commonly called a expenses incurred basis~This is frequently called a expenses incurred basis}. Under this deal, the policy will reimburse in one of two methods.

• The actual charges for a semiprivate room are covered.

• A percentage of the actual charge is paid, with no definite dollar limit.

Under the first reimbursement option, the medical insurance company will pay the full actual semiprivate room rate, regardless of what it is. Under the second reimbursement option, the medical insurance company pays a specific percentage, regardless of what the actual charges are. A universal percentage is 80%.

To summarize, with the actual expenses style of reimbursement policy, the plan will pay the actual amount charged for a semiprivate room without regard to a specific dollar limit. With the percentage type of reimbursement policy, the policy might pay a specified percentage of the actual charges.

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