Using Your Health Insurance Plan Wisely

Now that you have health insurance coverage, the doctor you choose to provide you with your health care services through your health insurance plan is important. This will be the person who can ultimately change your future health for the better or worse. Choosing your health insurance plan doctor should not be a quick decision, but a researched choice based on the doctor's credentials and performance along with how the doctor will work with your individual health insurance or family health insurance plan.

Your Health Insurance Coverage Choices

In managed health insurance plans, like HMO's and PPO's, you will probably be limited to choosing from the health insurance plan's list of doctors. You may have an individual health insurance or family health insurance plan where you are able to choose a doctor that is not on the health insurance plan's list, but you will need to pay more. Choosing a doctor that is not a part of your health insurance plan will cost more because the doctor would be considered out-of-network. Regardless, a good doctor is worth the extra cost if you cannot find a doctor on your health care plan that you feel will make the best health care decisions for you.

Let's look at a breakdown of guidelines to follow so you can find the best doctor for your health care needs:

1. First, ask around. Check with trusted friends, family, and coworkers about doctors that they would recommend.

2. After you have a list of recommended doctors from your friends and family, add those doctors to the list of approved plan doctors from your individual health insurance company.

3. Next, contact the medical offices of the doctors you are interested in and ask the office about their doctors' training and experience. Also, include questions from your own list of qualities you would like in a doctor. Questions regarding gender, religion, and age are important to some. Add any other specific questions that may be important to you.

4. You can also find information about doctors you are interested in by asking for the Directory of Medical Specialists from your local library. This directory will give you additional professional information about the doctors you are researching.

5. The American Medical Association also offers a free online service at www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg. This AMA service provides additional information about physicians in your area.

6. Finding a doctor that is board certified might also be an important quality to you. Not all doctors that are licensed to practice medicine are board certified. To be board certified, the doctor must complete several additional years of training in a speciality and have passed an exam for that training. You can contact the American Board of Medical Specialities at 1-800-776-2378 to find out more information about board certification.

7. Checking into complaints about the doctors you are interested in is also an important aspect of choosing the best doctor for you. To check into complaints about a doctor, you can contact your state department of insurance.

8. The last step in finding a good doctor would be to set up a meet and greet appointment with your chosen doctors. Some offices charge a small fee for a get aquatinted visit. Make sure you have a prepared list of questions to take with you to your visit.