Independent Health Insurance Options

Many small businesses and families need independent health insurance. In Florida, the Office of Insurance Regulation reviews health insurance plans that offer wellness and preventive care benefits. Insurers must provide access to health care and medical services when the insured needs them.

Independent health insurance Florida plans offer a few different options. Most insurers offer the same kinds of health services, but plans differ in cost sharing and the manner in which services are provided to beneficiaries. The following type of independent health insurance plans are offered in Florida:

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Options

A private Florida PPO allows the insured to receive health care and medical services for any provider or doctor. Costs to the insured are less when he or she uses the PPO’s in-network providers. All PPO plans in Florida require the beneficiary to pay a deductible. It’s necessary for the insured to meet the deductible threshold before the PPO plan begins to pay a portion of healthcare costs.

If you’re scheduling a surgical procedure, take the following steps to ensure your medical costs are covered by the PPO plan:

• Check the PPO provider directory. Confirm that the surgeon, surgical center or hospital, or other healthcare providers are participating in the PPO network.
• Call the healthcare provider’s office to confirm that he or she is in the PPO network.
• Realize that you must pay more for healthcare providers who don’t participate in the PPO network.
• Note that some plans, such as Florida Blue, allow the insured to receive services from any healthcare provider or physician, but out-of-network costs may be significant.
• Check “pre-determination of benefits.” Ask the provider to estimate the costs of the procedure. Alternatively, use the private health insurance plan’s cost estimator tools.

Before receiving any care from the provider, surgical center, or hospital, the insured must show his or her plan member identification card. This information can help the provider to determine the insured’s costs of care.

Standard and high-deductible PPO plans are available in the state of Florida. To offset the out-of-pocket costs of care, it’s possible for the insured to use funds in a Health Care FSA or a Limited Purpose FSA for vision and dental costs.

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Options

HMO plans can help the insured to save money on private health insurance plans in Florida. Unless the insured goes out of network, he or she typically has no deductible to meet for the plan year in a standard HMO plan. The insured may need to make copayments for provider visits or make higher contributions for coverage. A Health Care FSA can help members to offset the costs of healthcare in Florida.

A high-deductible HMO costs less in premiums to the insured but includes a higher deductible, such as an in-network per person or per family deductible for the plan year.

Health Care Made More Convenient

Looking for a physician for your health care needs can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.  However, many Houston family physicians have chosen to provide healthcare options all in one online place through Spring Medical Associates.  Many people call them their go-to website and love the convenience of having several types of doctors all in one place.  They provide a variety of convenient healthcare services via online appointments, specialists are also available as well as onsite x-rays and labs.

Healthcare in One Place - Searching for a general physician or even a healthcare specialist all over the internet can be a challenge.  To make healthcare a lot more convenient and easier to handle, many healthcare developers are combining services in one central online location to meet the demand of their patients. Spring Medical Associates is one of these places that have gotten onto this new type of healthcare bandwagon.  On websites such as this one, patients can easily search for the doctors by name, gender, specialty, and even language.  Sites such as this one allow the patient to search by languages, such as Chinese, Hindi, Telugu, and French.
 

Specialists Available - Specialists doctors may be another challenge for some patients to find. However, websites such as Spring Medical Associates helps patients find specific specialists all in one online site.  The website provides walk-in appointments, online appointments, and same-day appointments for specialists, such as ear-nose-and-throat specialists, interventional pain specialists, and breast specialists.  Patients can also find specialists that work in primary care or family medicine, urology, and even general surgeons.

Onsite Technology - Another challenge in healthcare is finding doctors’ offices that have onsite x-ray technology and labs.  Spring Medical Associates is one of the places where patients can make a doctor’s appointment and know that laboratories and x-rays are on site.  This can save the patient time, gas money, and energy when they are especially sick.

Getting check-ups, routine care, and maintaining health care are so much more convenient when medical associations provide a network of healthcare providers all in one online location.  

Help Kristen and Ryan

My precious friends Ryan and Kristen lost their 7 week old firstborn son on Thanksgiving.  Along with their devastating loss, they are now faced with the emergency and medical expenses and the cost of planning a funeral.  Please, if you can help at all, it would be greatly appreciated.


And please, keep these young parents (and their extended family) in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.