Health insurance is an insurance which covers a certain percentage or the entire risk of an individual incurring private health care costs. Like other forms of insurance, there is risk involved in health insurance. Private health care costs differ from those offered by the government. Most private health insurance companies do not cover dental and hospital bills. There are also differences in deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance which vary from company to company.

The three basic health insurance plans are HMOs (Prepaid Health Maintenance Organizations), PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations), and POSs (Point of Service plans). In the HMO the insured person has to pay a flat monthly rate for medical costs. In PPOs there are fixed monthly rates and plans of different groups like family, group, and individual plans. A person having a disability cannot get an HMO plan. For such persons there are facilities provided under the POS plans.

A person having an income which is low as per the qualification can opt for a PPO. Under this plan the doctor visit charges are paid by the employer. In addition to this, the insured is reimbursed for the medical care costs only after a deductible. An HMO also reimburses its members for the medical costs up to a limit determined by the insurer. This limit may be deducted from the monthly salary. There are various schemes of health insurance plans. A person must pay premiums for the health insurance plans he chooses. These policies have deductibles and co-pays. If the insured person has a high annual income, he will receive extra benefits. There are provisions which allow self-employed people to be insured.

There are three different insurers in the United States of America. The Insurance Companies offer different policies for different categories of people. The HMO and the PPO are among the many PPOs. They cover all the insured people. However, the insured person must buy health insurance from the same insurer. Each and every State have different laws regarding health insurance coverage. It is advisable to consult the State Health Department for adequate guidance. The health insurance coverage depends upon the new number. For instance, if you belong to the new 611 group, then you are eligible for group health plans and so on. However, if you belong to any other group or category, you will have to look out for individual health plan.