Finding a new health plan can be challenging. We have tips to make it easier.

How do I get a health insurance plan?

Most people get health insurance in one of four ways:

1.     Ask your employer if they offer a health plan for employees.

2.     Ask your spouse’s employer if you can join their plan.

3.     Stay on your parent’s plan until you’re 26.

4.     Buy a plan through an insurance company, HMO, or on HealthCare.gov.

How do I choose health insurance?

Start by looking at the benefits. Those are the health careservices and treatments the plan covers. If you have medical or mental healthissues, you want to be sure the plan pays for those.

Also look at the cost. Ask about the premium, copay, coinsurance,and deductible. Those are the costs you’ll pay for your care.

Finally, make sure the plan lets you see your doctors andspecialists. Some plans use networks of doctors, so you want to ask if yourdoctors are in the network.

What other tips do you have to find healthinsurance?

Shop around. If you went to HealthCare.gov to look for a plan lastyear, look again. New plans join every year, so there might be more plans. And,again, check your plans to see if you can see your doctors and if the plancovers the prescriptions you take.

How can I avoid health insurance fraud?

Watch out for these red flags:

·       An agent is pressuring or hurrying you to buy a plan.

·       An agent calls you out of the blue without you asking for a call.

·      Anyone asks for your personal information, banking information, Social Security number, Medicare number.

·      The price of the health plan is very low.

What deadlines do I need to know about?

Open enrollment is the time of the year when you can shop for a newhealth plan or change plans. If you want coverage to start January 1, buy aplan by December 15. If you want coverage to start February 1, buy a plan byJanuary 15.

HealthCare.Gov

00:00 Top tips to choose the right health insurance plan0042 Where can you shop for a health insurance plan?01:32 How do you choose the right health plan?02:45 Can you shop around for a health insurance plan?03:33 How can you prevent health insurance scams?04:28 What is health insurance open enrollment?04:52 What is health insurance special enrollment?05:20 Visit TDI's health insurance shopping guide at https://www.tdi.texas.gov/consumer/health-insurance-shopping-guide.html05:49 If you have health insurance questions, call 800-252-3439 or visit https://www.tdi.texas.gov

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