Health insurance is pretty much a necessity – helping you deal with all manner of unforeseen health complications. Insurance companies, in a bid to lure customers, come out with a slew of attractive offers. But there are a number of health insurance ‘secrets’ that most consumers are not privy to. Unfortunately, not knowing about something doesn’t mean that it can’t affect you. Which is why it’s important that you know about these health insurance secrets, that can have a significant impact on your coverage. There Is Never a 100 Percent Coverage When your insurance agent tells you that “everything is covered”, a little healthy skepticism and scrutiny of the actual plan would be a good idea. There’s an “out-of-pocket limit” number which means that you will be expected to pay a small percentage of your medical bill. Only after you pay your share, will your insurance company bear 100% of your remaining expenses. Your plan might be really expensive , but it has its own exclusions and co pays. So be aware of them beforehand. Recommended Read:  Additional Benefits Available with Health Insurance Plans A Hospital May Be in Network but Not the Doctors It Calls This is one of the tricky health insurance secrets, you might never know.

Filing a health insurance claim is not a complicated process once you understand every necessary step you need to take. A health insurance claim means you are asking your provider to reimburse you for medical/health services you have obtained. The claim is filed by your health provider in case the doctor is part of the provider’s circle. If not then you need to handle health insurance claims at your end. How to make your health insurance claim? The steps to file your health insurance claim are fairly simple. When the bill is directly sent by your clinic/hospital  After you make the payment, the doctor/hospital’s billing center sends the bill to your insurance provider. The process is now electronic and the bills can be sent through emails. The doctor will send the bill along with other details such as the patient’s information and services rendered. The insurer will compare the bill against the benefits it offers and accordingly make the payment. When you send the bill to your provider  You will need an itemized bill from your doctor to send along, with the claim form. The itemized bill is a list of services your doctor offers along with the cost of each.

The waiting period in health insurance refers to the time period that needs to be passed before you can start availing of the benefits. The benefit of waiting period is given to providers as a safeguard of sorts from fraudulent claims. It’s important for you to be familiar with the waiting period concept, in order to be better informed while picking your health insurance plan. Types of Waiting Periods There are different types of waiting periods in health insurance, depending on specific plans. Employer waiting period This type of waiting period in health insurance exists in employee group plans . It applies to new employees who need to wait for a specific period of time before they can claim health insurance benefits . The employer imposes this kind of waiting period and it can be up to three months. The reason for this type of waiting period is to lessen the risk of new employees taking undue advantage of insurance benefits. Otherwise, new employees would be able to seek benefits and leave the employment immediately. Exclusion waiting period This type of waiting period in health insurance relates to pre-existing conditions and diseases. If you have had a condition for at least six months, the provider can exclude it from the list of benefits offered to you.