Find the Minnesota Health Insurance Plans Right for You
Minnesota health insurance plans are available in several forms but most health insurance packages are one of three main types. These types include Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans, PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plans and Indemnity plans, each with different benefits and restrictions. Each of these types offers acceptable levels of health coverage for most people, but the plans differ in requirements, approved health providers and premium rate pricing.
With an HMO, only health care received from a network-affiliated health care provider will be covered, and all specialized care must be referred by your primary physician in order to be a covered service. With a PPO, health care is covered at a higher percentage when you use a network provider with negotiated, discount network rates, but you may also use out-of-network providers and receive a lower reimbursement of your health care expenses. With an Indemnity type plan, you may use any health care provider you wish, and you will be covered for a set percentage reimbursement of your expenses. Of these different programs, HMO plans will have the lowest premiums, while Indemnity plans are very comprehensive and come with the highest premium rates.
When choosing from an HMO, PPO or Indemnity plan, you should first decide whether your preferred physicians, labs and hospitals are included in the HMO or PPO provider network. Next, you can decide how much freedom you would need in choosing specialists should the situation arise. Finally, you will want to evaluate the trade-off between having more freedom in choosing doctors, specialists and hospitals versus the significantly increasing premium prices associated with more flexibility.