What is health insurance?
Health insurance is a type of
insurance that helps cover the cost of an insured person’s medical and surgical
expenses. There are different types of health insurance in the USA.
Insurers use the term “provider”
to describe a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, healthcare practitioner, or
pharmacy that provides treatment for an individual’s condition.
The “insured” is the owner of the
health insurance policy or the person with the health insurance coverage.
In this article, learn more about
what health insurance is, why it is important, types of plan, and legislation
details.
What does health insurance
cover?
Health insurance helps covers the
cost of an insured individual’s medical and surgical expenses. There are
various plan types, and they vary in terms of what they cover and how a person
can access treatment. Currently, a person in the U.S. must have some form of
health insurance coverage.
How does health insurance
work?
Depending on the type of health
insurance coverage a person has, either the insured pays costs out of pocket
and receives reimbursement, or the insurer makes payments directly to the
provider. In countries without universal healthcare coverage, such as the
United States, health insurance is commonly included in employer benefit
packages.
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Private health insurance
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) say that the U.S. healthcare system relies heavily on
private health insurance. In the National Health Interview Survey, researchers
found that 63.7%Trusted Source of people under the age of 65 years in the U.S.
have a type of private health insurance coverage.
Public, or government, health
insurance
With this type of insurance, the
state subsidizes healthcare in exchange for a premium. Medicare, Medicaid, the
Veterans Health Administration, and the Indian Health Service are examples of
public health insurance in the U.S.