Group health insurance plans

Group Health

Many people who are employed by large companies or businesses are eligible to participate in a health insurance plan. Most are covered under a group health plan. A group health plan is normally only available to businesses that employ at least fifty or more people.
The group health plan may be one of many different types. The fee-for-service group health plan allows you to go to the doctor you want, but you have to pay a fee for their service. While this is very flexible, it is getting harder to find and more and more expensive. Many people like this because it allows you to keep the same doctor rather than changing when the plan changes, but you may have to pay up from then submit a form to get reimbursed by your insurance company.

Another type of group health plan is the HMOs or health maintenance organizations. This involves a network of healthcare professionals and facilities that offer packaged health care services for a fixed fee. For the group health plan, you choose a primary care physician. No matter what problem you are having, you have to see him first. If a specialist is needed, he will then refer you to a specialist within that network. The advantage it an HMO is often the low cost of visiting your primary care physician. It can often be as low as $5 a visit. However, you must choose a doctor from their list of physicians within in the network and a referral to a specialist is always required by the primary care physician. This tends to delay medical attention.

Finally, there is the PPO or preferred provider organization. This is similar to the HMO, but also allows you to go outside the network to the physician of your choice. You pay more out of pocket than if you had stayed within the network of physicians, but at least you have a choice in this type of group health plan.