Getting Different Quote Ranges for the Same Carrier?

Posted in Fee-For-Service Plans , Health Insurance , Health Insurance Quotes , HMO , Point of Service Plans , PPO

April 22nd, 2009

Health insurance is one of those things that individuals cannot go without. Sure, health insurance may cost thousands of dollars a year when you are in perfect health, and that may seem like thousands of dollars wasted. However, injury or disease can occur at any time, and without health insurance your financial situation can deteriorate quickly due to the overwhelming costs associated with medical expenses.

Choosing Basic Types of Health Insurance

There are many things to consider when researching health insurance. First, you may want to choose from one of four basic policy types including:

• HMO-Health Maintenance Organizations
• PPO- Preferred Provider Organizations
• POS- Point of Service Plans
• Fee for Service or traditional health insurance

Once you focus in on which type of coverage you want, you must then investigate which carrier you want. While analyzing the carrier, you may notice that you are getting different quote ranges for the same carrier. That is not unusual as within each carrier there are different tiers of service that will generate different quote ranges within the same health insurance carrier.

Different Offerings Will Cause Different Quote Ranges

When you are getting different quote ranges for the same health insurance carrier you need to review various aspects within the policy as they may cause price fluctuations. Different quote ranges for the same health insurance carrier will be influenced by:

• The annual deductible amount you will be responsible for paying; typically the higher the deductible, the lower the premium
• The out of pocket maximum limits your insurance will have
• Copayment or coinsurance amounts for office visits
• Hospitalization
• Drug costs
• Lifetime medical insurance maximums

Prices may fluctuate from plan to plan, even within a specific carrier. The different price tiers will cause fluctuations and differences in the price quote ranges you will get from the same carrier.