Find the Illinois Health Insurance Plans Right for You
Illinois health insurance plans are available in many forms, but most health insurance packages fall into one of three main categories. There are Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans and Indemnity plans, each with its own benefits and restrictions. Each of these packages offers acceptable levels of health coverage for most families, but the plans differ in restrictions, approved health providers and premium pricing.
In an HMO, only health care received from a network-affiliated health care provider will be reimbursed, and all specialized care must be referred by your primary physician in order to be covered. In a PPO, health care is covered at a higher percentage when you use a network provider with pre-negotiated network rates, but you may also use out-of-network providers and receive a lower level reimbursement of your expenses. With an Indemnity plan, you may use any health care provider you wish, and you will receive a set percentage reimbursement of your covered expenses. Of these programs, HMO plans will have the lowest premium rates, while Indemnity plans are very comprehensive and come with equally high premium rates.
When choosing between an HMO, PPO or Indemnity plan, you should first evaluate whether your preferred physicians, labs and hospitals are covered in the HMO or PPO network. Next, you should decide how much freedom you would prefer in choosing specialists should the need arise. Finally, you will need to evaluate the trade-off between having more freedom in choosing physicians, specialists and hospitals versus the significantly increasing premium prices associated with having more flexibility.