Learn more about health insurance and its basics
A health insurance or health policy, as we told you, is complementary to the POS. This means that you will have the possibility of having additional services. Among them, depending on the company, they could include hospital expenses, clinical services, emergency service, medicines, as well as specialized examinations, dental assistance or protection in case of maternity.
The insurance, according to the above, will cover medical expenses to ensure your health. It will provide you with a series of clinics, doctors and laboratories that may also be of your choice. Best of all, without waiting for a general practitioner’s authorization!
Other benefits that you will be able to access will be coverage on national or international trips, which will allow you to cover yourself anywhere. Also, being part of personal insurance, it gives the possibility of taking out a policy not only for you, but also for your family group or those closest to you. Since our purpose is to preserve your protection, we invite you to learn the basics of health insurance.
Health Insurance Basics
Grace period
Although the purpose of insurance is to protect you from any eventuality, not all types of policy have coverage from day one.
The grace period determines the time you must wait to make some coverage effective. It can be days or months. During this time you will not be able to use the coverage established by your insurance.
When taking out your health insurance, we advise you to review these restrictions to find out from what moment you can use it. Well, this is a measure that insurers take to protect themselves from those who only take this service to treat an illness and then retire.
Pre-existing disease
Pre-existing disease is one of the basics of health insurance. It refers to any alteration that you have in your state of health, diagnosed or treated prior to the contract that you sign to acquire health insurance. It is common that these diseases or complications from previous surgeries are not covered by insurance.
Therefore, we explain another of the basic concepts of health insurance: the declaration of the state of risk. It refers to the insurer’s need to know your state of health. To do this, they will ask you questions called an insurability statement and they must be answered accurately and safely.
Exclusion
Exclusions are specific conditions in the contact that are not covered and for which compensation is not paid. Some examples of these may be: cosmetic surgeries, exams, surgeries, or dental extractions, infertility treatments, executive check-ups, obesity treatments, and bariatric surgeries or experimental treatments.
Keep in mind that if a coverage is not contemplated in these exclusions, it does not mean that it is not also subject to a series of conditions. Therefore, you must consider the different limits and requirements.
Copay
It is a small additional amount to the amount of your insurance that you will have to pay for the use of the services. Generally, the value of insurance with copayments is less than those that do not have it, the same happens with its coverage. This money will depend on the company with which you take the service. When signing the contract, the company with which you take out the insurance will inform you in detail of the co-payments that will be billed.
Based on the above, you will wonder if it is better to take your health insurance with copayment or without copayment. This will depend on your budget. If you will be using it infrequently, a product with co-pays is best, as it will cost less. A more expensive insurance will save you additional expenses.
Urgency
The last basic concept of health insurance that we will explain to you is urgency. This is an unforeseen event that puts your safety at risk and requires immediate medical attention. For this you must have special assistance in a hospital, otherwise your health may deteriorate, worsen or lead to serious complications such as death.
Health Insurance Benefits
Health insurance, in general, offers many benefits, some are:
- Attention with the best medical specialists directly (without the need for a prior appointment with a general practitioner).
- Access to the best private clinics.
- Private room in case of hospitalization.
- Coverage of unexpected expenses.
- Quick attention in case of emergencies.
- Maternity care coverage and additional services such as transfers, exams.
- Accompaniment, prevention and self-care programs.
- Some include international travel assistance, in case of an accident.
What is a health insurance policy number?
A health insurance policy number is an identification number that’s issued to you by your health insurance company. This makes it easier for you to access policies and also helps to identify claims that need to be submitted. An insurance policy number is also required in certain situations.
A health insurance policy number or health insurance number is a unique identification assigned to an individual or business for use in verifying the identity of an insured person. This number is required to obtain health insurance if, as part of the insurance contract, you have chosen one to be issued. It is not unique to a health insurance policy, but it is unique to a life insurance policy. So, your life insurance company will have your social security number and Medicare number, but they don’t have your health insurance policy number.
