Question 1. What out of pocket expenses and deductible are there? No health insurance plan will cover one hundred percent of your medical expenses and you will normally have to pay a deductible before your insurance company will pay out anything at all and will also ask you to meet certain other expenses.

Question 2. What health screenings and examinations does the plan include?Health plans vary considerably when it comes to preventative care and you will have to look to see what screening tests are covered. For example, does the plan cover all family members including babies, children and adults and provide such things as breast examinations, mammograms and pap smears?

Question 3. Is specialist care and referrals covered? Should you require a referral to a specialist this may or may not be covered and, if covered, could have limits placed upon that cover.

Question 4. How does the plan treat emergency care and hospitalization? In some cases you will find that both emergency care and hospitalization will only be covered when they are pre-approved and you must fully understand the conditions under which this form of treatment is covered.

Question 5. What prescriptions costs does the plan cover? You will have to examine any accompanying prescription plan with care to determine what drugs are permitted and the extent to which you may have to meet part of the cost of any prescription drugs.

Question 6. Are dental and vision care covered? In a lot of cases health insurance plans will not provide cover for dental and vision care and these then have to be covered under a separate plan.

Question 7. Does the plan cover psychotherapy, psychiatric services or mental health services? Although many health plans will cover mental illness in various different forms such cover is frequently limited and you will normally find that there is a cap on the amount of cover provided.

Question 8. Is hospital, home health and nursing home care covered? Although most plans will offer reasonably good hospital cover you will have to look carefully at just what cover is provided for home health and nursing home care.

Question 9. Is physical therapy and rehabilitative care covered? Health insurance plans will frequently separate out initial treatment and follow-up rehabilitative care and physical therapy and so it is essential to determine exactly what is and what is not covered.

Question 10. Does the plan cover alternative care? As an increasing number of people are turning to alternative treatments like acupuncture or holistic treatments health insurance companies are increasingly including cover for such treatments. It is however still early days for alternative treatment and, if this is something that you want to take advantage of, you will need to look to see to what extent it is covered.

These ten questions should form the basis on which you consider any medical insurance quote but you might want to include additional items to your own list such as how much paperwork is required when making a claim under the plan and how wide is your choice when it comes to hospitals, doctors and other care facilities. The most important thing however is to make sure that you fully understand just what cover you are getting and how much it will cost before committing yourself to a plan.

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