Alaska Health Insurance
It is important to give proper consideration to which Alaska Health Insurance Plan is going to be right for you, because no matter what your age or economic circumstances, ill-health can strike us all at different times and it is important that you are properly prepared for those situations.
There are two main ways that health insurance plans are sold in Alaska:
1/ Individual Health Insurance
This is where you approach the Alaskan health insurance company yourself to get a policy either for just yourself, or to cover your family under your policy. With this type of insurance it is quite common for you and your family to be asked to take a medical examination, and you will be asked quite personal questions about your medical history and any pre-existing medical conditions that you may have. Depending on the policy that you are applying for these pre-existing conditions may or may not be covered by any Alaska Health Insurance that you arrange, and so you need to make sure that any cover you do get is adequate for your actual circumstances.
2/ Group Health Insurance
One of the key advantages of Group Health Insurance policies over individual health insurance policies is that often they don’t require the individuals to undergo medical examinations. Rather because the size of group policies can encompass large groups of people, the idea is that there will be a balancing out of those in good health, with the members of the group who are in poor health.
These types of policy are typically offered by employers to their workers, and are often cheaper than individual health insurance. They are often not as flexible however, and if you want quite specific treatment regimens from your Alaska Health Insurance, then you may be better off looking at individual policies.
There are a number of questions that you should ask before proceeding with the purchase of any health insurance in Alaska, and these should include these six:
1/ What supplies and services are covered by this insurance? 2/ What are the specific requirements of any plan and how are such factors as pre-existing conditions treated? 3/ What are the limits of the cover and are there any treatments that would not be covered? 4/ Are there any specific exclusions that I should be aware of? 5/ Are there any deductibles that need to be paid before treatment can commence and if so how much? 6/ Are there any other costs that could be billed in addition to the premium amounts that I am not currently aware of?
Typical Exclusions on Most Alaska Health Insurance Plans
There are a number of treatments and procedures which are typically NOT covered on most Alaska Health Insurance Plans, and it is worth taking note of them so that you aren’t caught out in the future when you are suddenly presented with a bill.
1/ Services related to vision and eye care.
2/ Services related to hearing and ear care.
3/ Services related to nervous disorders or mental disorders.
4/ Services that are considered to be experimental by an accepted medical authority.
5/ Cosmetic Surgery
6/ Services provide due to war.
7/ Work Related Injuries.
8/ Services related to routine baby care and normal pregnancy (note – this is often included in group policies, even though it is excluded in many individual policies).
9/ Services deemed by the insuring party to not be medically necessary.
It is worth reading any policy documentation very carefully from your insurance company particularly for 4/ and 9/ to get some gauge of what basis they are making judgments in these matters, as inevitably some Alaska Health Insurance Companies will allow some procedures which others class as ‘experimental’, or not medically necessary.
Regardless of whether you are going to go down the individual health insurance route or the group health insurance route it is a good idea to take a closer look at exactly what is available right now by checking out some Alaska Health Insurance Quotes and comparing what is on offer.
