We all know that getting a high quality Arkansas Health Insurance Plan is a good idea, but there can sometimes be confusion as to the best ways to go about getting one.
The cost of Health Insurance in the United States has been going up year on year and is taking up ever larger slices of family budgets, with premiums estimated to have doubled since 2000, but often with less coverage than previously.
It is with this backdrop in mind that anyone looking to either change their health insurance provider in Arkansas, or get Arkansas Health Insurance for the first time needs to be extremely vigilant when it comes to researching their options and seeking out health care solutions that will work for them and their family.
If you are a generally healthy individual of between 26 and 64 then you have a number of options when it comes to how best to proceed.
1/ Get Health Insurance through Your Work –
This can often be the cheapest and best way of getting cover. Especially in large Group Arkansas Health Insurance Plans you will often find that the insurance companies will not insist on an individual medical, as they operate a balancing scheme where they accept that some individuals will have poorer health because most will be in good health. As long as the premiums that are paid in to the policy stay above a certain level in proportion to the amount that are paid out, then the policy is able to continue.
You may get refused entry by your own firm on the basis that you are a temporary worker, or have not worked for the firm for long enough to be eligible for entry. But normally these would not be medical reasons, but simply normal job factors.
2/ Buy an Individual Arkansas Health Insurance Plan –
With an individual insurance plan you will find that insurance companies will generally insist on a medical before the plan starts, and if it is for your family as well then they too will have to have a medical.
This can be a good option and offer lots of flexibility if you don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions. But you will often find that if you do have pre-existing medical conditions that you may either get rejected for cover, or else have very firm stipulations put on the medical conditions for which you can seek treatment.
The technical term that health insurance companies put on this is ‘medical underwriting’ and it is essentially a process of assessing how big a financial risk you pose to the insurance company so that they can reach a consensus about whether to offer you cover, and if so on what terms, offering which services and at what price.
3/ The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) / High Risk Pool Option –
This is new and is being offered as a lead up to the transitions in 2014 that are being laid down in the Affordable Care Act. This is specifically designed for people who have been denied cover by health insurance companies in Arkansas and elsewhere on the basis that they have pre-existing conditions.
This is available if you have been denied coverage based on a pre-existing condition, and have not had any health insurance for a period of at least six months, or have insurance but are not covered for the pre-existing condition.
The Arkansas Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool requires that you be a legal resident, and requires that you provide proof that you have been denied for individual health insurance cover based on your pre-existing condition.
4/ Seek out Reduced-Cost or Free Clinics –
There are some reduced cost health care facilities and free health centers that are run by charitable trusts. You may be able to get certain types of treatments at these such as pre-natal care, substance abuse and mental health care. But in practice these are really a last resort and a very poor substitute for proper Individual Arkansas Health Insurance or Group Arkansas Health Insurance.
With all of these different options it is a good idea to make sure to get a variety of Arkansas Health Insurance Quotes so that you can compare the cost of different options, and reach a considered judgment about which is best for you.
