Health insurance helps protect you from high medical care costs. Many people in the United States get a health insurance policy through their employers. In most cases, the employer helps pay for that insurance. Insurance through employers is often with a managed care plan. These plans contract with health care providers and medical facilities to provide care for members at reduced costs.
You can also purchase health insurance on your own. It usually costs you more than employer-based insurance. People who meet certain requirements can qualify for government health insurance, such as Medicare and Medicaid. If you do not have health insurance, you must pay your medical bills directly or rely on health care providers or organizations that donate care.
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Health Insurance: Understanding What It Covers(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/health-ins/688.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/healthy/health-ins/688.printerview.html
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Health Insurance: Understanding Your Health Plan's Rules(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/health-ins/734.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/healthy/health-ins/734.printerview.html
- Top 10 Ways to Make Your Health Benefits Work for You(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/10working4you.html
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JAMA Patient Page: Health Care Insurance: The Basics(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/297/10/1154.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/297/10/1154/DC1/1
- Questions and Answers about Health Insurance: A Consumer Guide(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/insuranceqa/
- Lack of Insurance Raises Abused Babies' Death Risk(10/13/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70368.html
- Doctors Know Little About Consumer-Directed Health Plans(10/07/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70167.html
- Number of Uninsured Americans Drops(08/26/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68569.html
- More News on Health Insurance http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_h.html#healthinsurance
- Coverage for Medically Uninsurable Individuals(National Association of Health Underwriters) - http://www.nahu.org/consumer/healthcare/topic.cfm?catID=23
- Emergency Care -- Know What Your Health Plan Covers(American College of Emergency Physicians) - http://www3.acep.org/patients.aspx?id=26092
- Employer or Union Coverage(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/choices/employer.asp
- Health Savings Accounts: Is an HSA Right for You?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/health-savings-accounts/GA00053/METHOD=print
- How Your Bills Get Paid: Medigap(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/medigap/bills.asp
- Insurance (Dental Benefits)(American Dental Association) - http://www.ada.org/public/manage/insurance/
- Life Events Impact Health Benefit Needs(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fshealthcy.html
- Medicare and Other Health Benefits: Your Guide to Who Pays First(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Large PDF file - http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02179.pdf
- Medigap (Supplemental Insurance) Policies(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/medigap/default.asp
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Prescriptions and Insurance Plans(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/health-ins/735.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/healthy/health-ins/735.printerview.html
- Uninsured: Access to Medical Care(American College of Emergency Physicians) - http://www3.acep.org/patients.aspx?id=25932
- Your Guide to the Appeals Process(Patient Advocate Foundation) - http://www.patientadvocate.org/index.php?p=13
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Insurance, Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Insurance,+Health%22
- Article: Still in the game--harnessing employer inventiveness in U.S. health care... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18832241&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Minding the gap: a decomposition of emergency department use by... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18815532&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Hispanics and health insurance coverage: the rising disparity. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18815531&tool=MedlinePlus
- Health Insurance -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(insurance,+health[majr]+NOT+(managed+care+programs[majr]+OR+prepaid+health+plans[majr]+OR+medicare[majr]+OR+medicaid[majr]))+OR+medically+uninsured[mh]+AND+united+states[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Health Insurance Definitions(Bureau of the Census) - http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthinstypes.html
- State Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (SHIPs)(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/contacts/Static/SHIPs.asp
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/
- Dept. of Labor - http://www.dol.gov/
- COBRA Continuation of Coverage(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/cobracontinuationofcov/01_overview.asp?
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Employee's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA(Dept. of Labor) - Large PDF file - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobraemployee.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/COBRAEmployeeSp.pdf
- How to File a Claim for Your Benefits(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/how_to_file_claim.html
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Life Changes Require Health Choices: Know Your Benefit Options(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.efast.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/life_changes.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/LifeSpn.pdf
- Mental Health Parity Act(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HealthInsReformforConsume/04_TheMentalHealthParityAct.asp
- Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/healthinsreformforconsume/05_thenewborns%27andmothers%27healthprotectionact.asp?
- Pension and Health Care Coverage: Questions and Answers for Dislocated Workers(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/dislocated_workers_brochure.html
- Questions and Answers on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Nondiscrimination Requirements(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/FAQs/faq_hipaa_ND.html
- Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/healthinsreformforconsume/06_thewomen%27shealthandcancerrightsact.asp?
- City vs. City: When It Comes to Health Insurance Costs, Geography Matters(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2006/cityvspr.htm
- FASTATS: Health Insurance Coverage(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hinsure.htm
- Health Coverage and Access to Care among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/upload/7745.pdf
- Health Insurance Data(Bureau of the Census) - http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthins.html
- Low Income Uninsured Children by State [2003-2005](Bureau of the Census) - http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/liuc05.html
- Percentage of Persons of All Ages Who Failed to Obtain Needed Medical Care Due to Cost at Some Time during the Past 12 Months: United States, 1997 - September 2007(National Center for Health Statistics) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/200803_03.pdf
- Uninsured Individuals and Their Access to Health Care(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/1420_09.pdf
- Children's Mental Health — Insurance and Payment Issues(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ6FQ868SD&sub_cat=21
- Insure Kids Now: Find Your State(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - Directory of low-cost or no-cost health insurance programs for children by state - http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/states.asp
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Insure Kids Now: Questions and Answers(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/questions.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/espanol/questions.asp
- Low Cost Health Insurance for Families & Children(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.cms.hhs.gov/LowCostHealthInsFamChild/
- Frequently Asked Questions about Health Insurance and Women(National Women's Health Information Center) - Links to PDF - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/healthins.pdf
- Women's Health Insurance Coverage(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/6000_06.pdf
- Can the Retiree Health Benefits Provided by Your Employer Be Cut?(Dept. of Labor) - http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/retiree_health_benefits.html
- Insurance, Financing, and Costs of Health Care(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=5
- Financial Assistance - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/financialassistance.html
- Managed Care - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/managedcare.html
- Medicaid - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicaid.html
- Medicare - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicare.html
- Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html