Health Insurance
If any group decides to pool their risks by contributing certain amount to pay the medical expenses of one of its members, they are already practicing the principle of a Health Insurance. A Health Insurance is the kind of insurance that takes the risks of shouldering any expenses relative to the illness or injury of a policy holder. This started actually with the accident insurance.
In 1694, the concept of health insurance was proposed, from the Peter Chamberlin family. It was in the 19th century that the Accident Insurance was made available. It operated like“disability insurance”. Before the development of the medical expense insurance in the early years of the 20th century, the patients were made to pay their medical bills and all other health care costs out of their own pockets. However, in the middle part of the 20th century the usual “disability insurance” evolved into a modern health insurance program. Today most of the health insurance shoulder the medical expenses of the policy holder on routine, preventive, emergency, health care procedures and even prescribed drugs for the treatment of their illnesses, depending on the coverage of the said health insurance.
Medical and hospital expenses policies were introduced in the first half of the 20th century. Hospitals in the years 1920’s, the hospitals offered services to their clients on the prepaid basis. In 1929 through 1930 the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s) were born.
A health insurance can be purchased individually or by group. Some employers sponsor the payment of the insurance premiums for their employees. There are also cases that the payment of the premium is shared by both the employee and the employer. There are also health insurance that offers protection to an individual and his family. The procedure and other agreement can be specified and found in the contract, the policy which the insured person is holding. Usually the premium of the health insurance is paid in advance monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. For employees who opt to purchase a health insurance for him and or his family can even request his employer to deduct from his monthly pay the insurance premium.
Despite of having a health insurance, a policy holder sometimes pay his hospital bills out of his own pocket in especially during emergencies, wherein the hospital he was treated is not accredited by his insurance company. However, his expenses be reimbursed later by the company after complying the requirement. There is also health insurance that requires the policy holder to pay a certain percentage of his hospital or medical expenses depending on the agreement stipulated in the policy. Sometimes this is because the expenses exceed the protection provided by the insurance company. There are also illnesses that cannot be covered by some of the Health Insurance.
If you plan to purchase any health insurance it is much better to investigate the stability of the company. Be sure to get cleared of the provision and coverage of the health insurance that you get. Have always the chance of making a canvass of the number insurance company that offers health insurance. Do it personally or on line.