Individual Health Insurance vs. Group Health Insurance

Health Insurance rates vary from state to state, business to business, and person to person. To get the best rate it is necessary to find a plan that uses group rates, this is not an option to everyone, however.

Individual health insurance plans are plans in which one person is applying for coverage. Your health history sets the rate. Because you are one person, the coverage will be rather poor and very expensive.

Group health insurance combines groups of people and offers a less expensive group rate. The one problem with group health insurance rates is that one person's bad habits (smoking or drinking) can affect the group rate.

Individual health coverage is often easier to tweak. If you do not have need for prescription riders, it is easy to remove them from your individual policy. Group insurance is set by the employer who chooses the coverage that is best for the majority. What is good for the majority may not be enough for you or may include unnecessary components.

It can be helpful to look at individual health insurance plans, but often their high expense makes them pointless to own. Because few people apply for individual coverage, there are only a few companies that offer individual policies. This helps drive the cost up.

Group health insurance policies are usually far cheaper. Group rates help cut costs. You can also expect relatively comprehensive coverage as well. For any group health insurance policy, you will want basic health care coverage (yearly check-ups, doctor visits during illnesses, and routine tests.) Emergency care is another important factor. Car accidents, falls, kitchen accidents, and even burns can happen at any given time. If the injury is serious, you want to be able to receive quality care for the injury. Car accidents often require a trip to the emergency room by ambulance. Ambulance rides run upwards of $500, depending on the injuries sustained, nowadays. It is critical to have some form of ambulatory coverage.

Prescription coverage is often optional, but it can be helpful. If you become sick and need antibiotics, the pills can run upwards of $50 depending on the form and strength. Many insurance plans no longer cover birth control pills any more, so expect to pay for those out of pocket. MVP, one of New England's larger health insurance companies, will not cover prescriptions for name brand drugs if a generic brand is available. If this is the case, you may be better off looking into Walmart's new prescription coverage.