Massachusetts Health Insurance Tips

When the Affordable Care Act was passed, it gave access to “Obamacare” to each American. However, each state operates a little differently when it comes to health insurance marketplaces. Some states just forward the user onto the federal healthcare marketplace. However, states like Massachusetts have their own official health insurance marketplace that helps their residents select from different health insurance plans.

While these marketplaces are a great place to start, they can often be a bit confusing, and usually don’t show you all of the federal as well as private health insurance options available to you. An easy way to get the best of both worlds is to compare Massachusetts health insurance rates via a third-party service. Services like these will show you the “Obamacare” options, as well as other private insurance options to help you compare between plans and to allow you to select the best plan for you. Here are a few tips to consider when selecting a health insurance plan.

Costs

No matter what type of insurance plan that you choose, costs are associated with the plan. Costs can include things like monthly premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses that you will be responsible for by participating in the plan.

Most marketplaces will clearly list the costs associated with that plan. While most people look for a plan that has the least amount of out-of-pocket expenses, it’s important to note that plans like this may not be the best fit for you depending on your situation. For example, if you are a healthy individual who is not planning on having a baby, or who doesn’t have small children, then a higher deductible plan (which usually results in a lesser monthly premium) may be better suited for your needs. On the other hand, if you visit the doctor regularly, are planning on having a baby, or have small kids, then picking a plan with lower out-of-pocket costs would be something you would want to make sure you choose.

Sign Up

When it comes to Obamacare plans, you have to make sure you sign up during the Open Enrollment period. What most people don’t know is that you can still sign up for an Obamacare plan after open enrollment if a large life event took place. Large life events include things like marriage or divorce, death of a family member, disability, moving, or income changes. All of these events would allow you to take advantage of Special Enrollment which will allow you to sign up for a plan outside of Open Enrollment periods.

Compare

While cost is definitely one of the primary things you’ll be comparing, another important factor to compare is the size of the network. The larger the network is, the more choices of doctors, hospitals, and clinics you’ll have. It’s also important to note that if you visit a doctor or specialist regularly for certain conditions, choosing a plan that includes the network in which your doctors operate is important so that you won’t need to change your doctor. Seeing doctors inside of your network is always cheaper than seeing doctors outside of your network.

Also, depending on where you live may affect the size of the network you decide to go with. If you live in a city then a smaller network might suit your needs just fine whereas a larger network may be needed if you live in a more rural area.

As you can see, using a service that can help you to compare “Obamacare” plans alongside private plans is the best way to be able to see all of the options available to you.