It is a matter of great concern if you do not have an individual health insurance policy. You never know when you might need to incur heavy medical expenses in case of accidents or sudden ailments. If you are employed, your company must be providing some insurance cover to you. But, again, companies opt for cheaper options for their employees that do not offer proper medical coverage. And, in case you run your own business, you will have to buy yourself an affordable individual health insurance policy.

There are mainly two types of individual health care plans. They are managed-care plans and indemnity plans.

In managed care programs, you need to make a choice between HMO (Health Maintenance Organizations), PPO (Preferred Provider Organizations) and POS (Point of Service). POS combines the characteristics of HMO and PPO.

If you choose HMO, then you are allowed to take treatment from a particular set of doctors only under your insurance policy. This is a cheap option and suitable for people who pay routine visits to a doctor and are flexible in taking treatment from the given list of doctors.

In PPO, you can visit the set of doctors listed in the policy as well as some out of the list doctors. In PPO, you have to incur more expenses out of your pocket as compared to HMO. If you do not make regular visits to a doctor, then this option is good for you as you can have some choice of your doctor.

In Indemnity plans, the options are far more extensive. You choose the doctors and hospitals you wish to be treated from. These plans are preferred by people who wish to be treated only by the doctors they trust and can easily incur out of the pocket expenses. It is more suitable for people who face the risk of serious ailments in future.