|
Health Insurance
About Indemnity Plans
Indemnity Care Plans is a form of health coverage, wherein the medical care provider charges a fee for the services rendered and the insurance company pays this fee for the participant in the Indemnity Plan. This is the traditional insurance type which was used before the managed care plans came into place and started to become popular. Indemnity Plans are also referred to as Fee-for-Service Plan or Reimbursement plans.
Those who have taken up Indemnity Plans can choose any medical care provider for treatment. This means they have the freedom to choose the person from whom you wish to take medical care and do not have to worry about getting referrals from a designated medical care provider for specialist treatment.
However, along with such flexibility come the associate costs. When you receive treatment from a medical care provide, the provider will of course send the bill to the insurance company. The company will look into its list of 'Reasonable and Customary' charges and match those with the services rendered. If you go to specialist centers or top-notch hospital you can be sure that the medical service provided will cost more than what comes under the list of 'reasonable and customary' charges, which means you pay more. Typically the insurance company will pay up 80% of the fees charged by the medical provider, while you pay up 20%, but if the cost of medical services rendered is more than what is covered under list of 'reasonable and customary' charges, you pay for the difference.
There are also indemnity plans wherein the insurance company pays up the whole cost of care and not a percentage. You can also find plans wherein the company pays a specified amount per day for a specified maximum number of days. However, you should check out the features of such plans and the cost you will incur before you take them up.
|
