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.
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.