Here are the most common types of health plans:
- Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs):
This is not a very suitable healthcare plan for the employees but as it benefits the employers the most, it is the most common healthcare plan these days. There are several advantages and disadvantages of this particular health plan but the most important thing is that this plan is applicable for any type of employee in the company i.e. managers, manual workers, accountants, and assistants. With this plan; you don’t have the option to choose the health care providers, you have to pay those doctors who aren’t in the health plan network where on the other hand, advantages of this plan include; lower premium amount than other plans, less paperwork as compared to other plans, no need to submit claim forms and predictable out of pocket costs. - Point of Service Plans (POS):
POS is also known as a hybrid healthcare plan as it includes features of both the HMO and PPO and as a result, we see a more affordable and useful healthcare plan for the employees. The advantages of this health plan include more freedom of choosing your health care providers as compared to any other plan, moderate paperwork which is neglectable as compared to PPO and only in case you see a doctor out of network, and fewer out-of-pocket costs that you can control. Disadvantages of this healthcare plan include the extra costs that you need to pay if you see a doctor out of the network and even if he is in the network, you need to pay if he costs more than the healthcare plan. - Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs):
As compared to HMO, PPO has more to offer to the employees of an organization as it allows the employees to choose the health care providers at some level and they can also make some changes in the health plan according to their medical conditions. For example, if an employee doesn’t have a cholesterol problem but diabetes issues, he can eliminate the cholesterol health care and add diabetic health care plans. The disadvantage of this plan includes a lot of paperwork probably more than other plans, higher out-of-pocket costs and if a particular doctor charges more than others in the area, you have to pay the difference from your pocket. Advantages of this healthcare plan include the option to choose doctors of your own choice, fewer deductibles, and a wider network of doctors around the country. - High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs):
This is probably the most affordable and preferred healthcare plan of all. There are several advantages of this plan but the most important one is that you can link this plan to your health care savings account where you put your savings and the good news is that you don’t need to pay any taxes on withdrawals either. Other benefits include; the option to choose any kind of health plan, higher out-of-pocket costs but after a certain point, you don’t need to pay a single penny, moderate paper work, and the ability to choose your health care providers i.e. doctors and physicians.
Here is a preview of a Free Printable Health Plan Template created using MS Word,
Here is the download link for this free Health Plan Template,
