Individual health coverage offers benefits for health care. Prescription assistance programs are included in some plans. Some programs may provide for payment of medical charges incurred on a reimbursement basis by paying benefits to the plan owner, payment on a service basis by paying those who provide the services directly, or payment of an indemnity by paying a prearranged amount regardless of the amount charged for health bills. Medical expense or hospitalization coverage may be written on an individual or group basis. Some of these programs will provide prescription help.

Even though there are lots of types of benefits available, personal health expense insurance will normally be categorized as basic medical expense insurance, major medical coverage, comprehensive medical coverage, and special plans. These Programs should cover prescriptions because prescription drugs help so many patients. A large amount of these policies have mainly been replaced by managed care alternatives and are no longer sold as stand-alone programs. These types of plans have been adapted and replaced in response to changes in the health care field relative to cost containment and market competition.

Basic insurance provided by a private health expense plan includes hospital expense, surgical expense and medical expense. These three basics may well be sold together or individually. Often this is written as “first dollar” insurance, which means it does not contain a deductible.

As the name indicates, hospital expense coverage provides benefits for visits incurred throughout hospitalization. Hospital indemnities are ordinarily classified into two broad groups:

• Room and board, including nursing care and special diets

• Miscellaneous health charges, as well as x-rays, laboratory fees, medications, medical supplies, and operating and treatment rooms

In a number of cases, surgical benefits may well be incorporated for some types of surgery and associated costs. Hospital expense coverage provides benefits for daily hospital room and board and various hospital expenses while the insured individual is confined to the hospital. The plan can provide for a guaranteed dollar amount for the daily hospital room and board benefit, although the tendency is toward healthcare insurance of not more than the semiprivate room rate unless a private room is medically necessary. The room and board benefit may possibly be paid on either an indemnity basis or a reimbursement basis, depending on the individual policy.

Indemnity policies are sometimes called dollar amount policies. Room and board rates change by geographic location, but it is not abnormal to discover room and board rates ranging from $250  to $600  per day or more.

Normally, the maximum number of days is from 50  to 400 . More frequently, room and board charges are paid on a reimbursement basis. also called an expenses incurred basis~This is commonly called a expenses incurred basis~This is often times called a expenses incurred basis}. Under this agreement, the policy will pay in one of two methods.

• The actual charges for a semiprivate room are covered.

• A percentage of the actual charge is paid, with no definite dollar limit.

Under the first reimbursement option, the insurance carrier will pay the full actual semiprivate room rate, regardless of what it is. Under the second reimbursement option, the medical insurance company pays a specific percentage, regardless of what the actual charges are. A common percentage is 80%.

To sum up, with the actual charges type of reimbursement policy, the plan will pay the actual amount charged for a semiprivate room with no regard to a specific dollar limit. With the percentage type of reimbursement health insurance, the plan might pay a specified percentage of the actual bill.