The US health care system comes with a great variety of health insurance options. The options span the spectrum from low cost, minimal coverage, to expensive, all-inclusive policies.
Catastrophic health insurance is amongst the least expensive forms of health insurance. Deductibles, the amount the individual pays out of pocket before insurance begins paying, are generally large for these types of policies. There may also be caps on the amount the policy will pay in case of illness. These policies are only suitable for individuals with the financial means to handle routine illnesses and hospitalizations.
Short-term health insurance is similar to term life insurance in that it can only be purchased for a specific period of time. Coverage provided by the policies ranges from catastrophic to comprehensive, with the latter considerably more expensive. Short-term health insurance often comes with strict qualifying procedures and may not cover pre-existing medical conditions. In particular, pregnancy and childbirth are not usually covered by these policies.
A Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) is a health insurance plan where medical treatment is fully covered if provided by a doctor or hospital belonging to the PPO's network of health care providers. Treatment performed outside the network is also covered, but at a reduced rate. Policy holders are liable for any differences if seeking out of network treatment. PPOs are essentially a group discount form of health insurance; by maintaining administrative control over a group of doctors and hospitals, PPOs are able to provide medical care at a discount. PPOs generally require prior approval before allowing major medical services.
Health insurance from Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) greatly restricts who a patient may see for non-emergency medical services. The advantage is a significantly lower premium. HMOs have generated considerable controversy, as in many plans doctors receive financial incentives for reducing the amount of medical services provided to patients. One method of doing this has been to pay doctors a fixed monthly fee for each patient, regardless of the treatment they need. HMOs do tend to cover more preventive procedures such as immunizations, mammograms and physicals.
Full-service health insurance is also widely available, at considerable expense. These policies cover all illnesses, allow treatment virtually anywhere, and come with deductibles as high or as low as policy holders are willing to pay for. At the other end of the health insurance spectrum, Medicare/Medicaid is a form of public health insurance available to retirees and low-income individuals.