It is the truth that health insurance and plan are contracts between a company and a consumer yet, there is the difference between health plan and health insurance where the company agrees to pay all or some of the insured person’s healthcare costs in return for payment of a monthly premium.
The contract is usually a one-year agreement, during which the insurer will be responsible for paying specific expenses related to illness, injury, pregnancy, or preventative care. Living in good condition and having a sound wellbeing can be a gift on its own. This is because life without good health can be generally likened to a waste and arrant fruitlessness.
Personal health depends partially on the active, passive, and assisted cues people observe and adopt about their own health. These include personal actions for preventing or minimizing the effects of a disease, usually a chronic condition, through integrative care. They also include personal hygiene practices to prevent infection and illness.
Personal health also depends partially on the social structure of a person’s life. The maintenance of strong social relationships, volunteering, and other social activities have been linked to positive mental health and also increased longevity.
With this in mind, we are brought to the discussion of the difference, if there is any, between health plan and health insurance in order for you to be enlightened enough to see how paramountly stays the need for you to remain healthy no matter what. Health comes first!
Distinctions Between Health Plan and Health Insurance
There is no need blabbing about what and what should clear the difference between health plan and health insurance for anyone or family who has the luxury to dabble into it. The stuff is, there is the specific answer for it. So specifically, health plan is a broad term for all kinds of healthcare coverage. Meanwhile, health insurance is a type of medical insurance policy for employees within a company or organization.
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Health Plan
Health Plan can only be triggered when the covered person is hospitalized. The cost that the insurance company is payable is only the hospital’s final bill, which generally excludes certain consumables. Normally, the cap for a Health Plan is usually less.
There are different kinds of Health Plans specifically tailored for every man’s need. A family man would find it easier to buy a Health Plan that covers his family of four. Senior citizens have special benefits that tag along with their Medi-claim.
Health plan is an umbrella term for many types of employer-provided benefit plans that cover the cost of healthcare for employees and their families. The plan is established or maintained by an organization that offers a medical benefit to its participants directly through insurance, reimbursement, or otherwise.
For instance the Employee Retirement Income Security Act covers most health plans in private industries. It sets minimum standards for participant rights, requires employers to provide relevant plan information, and outlines the details of fiduciaries. The law also protects certain benefits if a plan is terminated.
Lately, certain Health Plans do offer a combined plan for distant relatives as well. Also, one can request for any number of claims until the insured amount exhausts. For instance, a man may claim a certain small sum of money in hospital bills for his knee surgery, while the sum insured is high. In such a case, he is eligible to put forward another claim in case of another hospitalization, for there is still some costs remaining as a cover.
Read Also: The Disadvantages of Health Insurance
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Health Insurance
Health insurance, also known as employer-sponsored health insurance, offers coverage to a group of members, typically a company’s employees and their eligible dependents. These insurance plans can only be purchased by groups, making individuals ineligible to enroll in this type of medical coverage on their own.
Health Insurance works in a highly broader field. It doesn’t just cover one’s hospitalization bills, but even takes care of the pre and post hospitalization cost. Just like in a critical illness policy, Health Insurances take care of the loss of income suffered when the family’s breadwinner is diagnosed with an illness that is financially detrimental as well.
It is not necessary to be hospitalized in order to extract a claim in case of Health Insurances. All you need to do is show a proof of the diagnosis of that particular illness and the job’s done. There is no purpose in making multiple claims here for the insurance company pays you a lump sum amount once the claim is proven.
Conclusion
Health plan doesn’t necessarily provide insurance directly. Employers should ensure their health plan includes a health insurance plan, self-insured health plan, or reimbursement plan so their employees have full health benefits.
Offering a health benefit, like a health insurance policy, is an attractive perk in today’s competitive job market. They can come with many advantages, like tax benefits and coverage for medical care, which can be costly to receive if an employee is uninsured. And for employers, offering a health benefit is a great way to attract and retain employees.
