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Family Health Insurance - How to Protect Your Family and Save Money
Affordable health insurance for our families is one thing we all want. However finding quality health care and affordable family health insurance aren't always easy.
Family Health Insurance Options
Usually the most affordable method of purchasing family health insurance is through employer-provided coverage. Because the costs of coverage are shared by the employee and the employer, your family ends up paying lower premiums.
Of course, you'll also face limitations because most employers only offer one or two plans to choose from.
Another option is to purchase your own family health insurance plan. Your costs may be higher - the average family premium was $334 per month in 2002, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation - but you'll get to choose a network of doctors you feel comfortable with and you'll be able to select your own deductible.
Family Medical Insurance Issues
Picking affordable health insurance should be done carefully. Some plans offer lower premiums or deductibles but don't cover many important medical needs, such as preventative medicine.
Preventative medicine includes yearly screenings, immunizations, and regular physicals that are meant to detect early signs of health problems, such as cancer, or to prevent problems from developing, such as measles or polio.
Even though preventative medicine is often recommended by doctors, not all insurance plans cover them nor will they extend their coverage in most cases if a doctor requires the tests to be done.
For this reason, you need to carefully review your policy regarding the types of preventative medicine your family needs to ensure that you can take these medical precautions.
Another issue is prescription coverage. More insurance plans are moving away from paying the costs of prescriptions. Of those that do, you'll still be expected to pay a co-payment of anywhere from $5 to $35 per prescription.
Those costs can add up, but they are considerably less than the $100 and up price tag on the most common prescriptions your family may need. Therefore, it's a good idea to search around for a plan that covers some prescription expenses.
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