How to choose a plan in the Health Insurance Marketplace

How to pick the right health insurance plan How do you find a health insurance plan that fits your budget and meets your needs? A good plan protects you and your family at a price that’s right for you. You can feel safe knowing that all Marketplace plans cover a core set of essential health benefits, like check-ups, having a baby, emergency care, prescription drugs and more. Most Marketplace plans must also include free preventive care like shots and screening tests. And don’t worry if you have a pre-existing condition. You’ll see the same plans at the same cost as everyone else. You can’t be denied coverage. Here are a few things to think about before you look at health insurance plans: Health insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company. You buy a plan, and the company agrees to pay part of your medical costs when you get sick or hurt. Although all plans in the Marketplace cover a core set of benefits, the amount you’ll pay will be different from plan to plan. In general, if your monthly premium payments are low,

the cost of getting care or how much you’ll pay out of your own pocket for things like prescriptions or hospital stays will be higher. And if you pay more each month for your premium, those other costs will be lower. Finding a good health plan means balancing how much you pay for your premium each month with how much healthcare you think you and your family are going to need during the year. If you’re healthy and don’t go to the doctor very often, then a plan with a low monthly premium will probably cost you the least. But if you do need to go to the doctor a lot, or you need a lot of expensive prescriptions, you should look at plans where the cost of getting care or how much you’ll pay out of your own pocket will be lower. If you really need a lot of health care, spending a bit more on your monthly premiums will actually save you money in the long run.