Things to remember when buying your Individual Health Insurance Plan

Millions have lost their health insurance over the last several years due to lost jobs or lost benefits due to corporate cut backs. If your one of us then stuck with a scary situation, not only do you not have insurance you also have to find an Individual Health Insurance plan. I'm not sure which one is the most scariest.

Remember these 5 things and your search will less scary and much simpler

Here are Top 5 Things to remember when buying your Individual Health Insurance Plan.

#1 Does my Health Insurance Plan Include My Doctor in Their Network? You'll want to check to see if your doctor is included in the health insurance plans network of doctors. Many insurance plans include a network of doctors for you to choose from and if yours is not included you could find yourself paying a higher deductible and possibly a higher percentage of your medical bill. Otherwise, you'll have to be willing to find another family doctor. I'd talk to your doctor to see what insurance plans they except, research those and see if any will fit your coverage needs.

#2 How Much Coverage Can I Afford? This is the tough question to answer. It balances on how much you can afford with your monthly budget, how many doctor's visits you anticipate each month, and if something catastrophic happens how much you could afford to pay out of pocket. If you and your family make frequent trips to the doctors you'll want to look at plans with lower deductibles and lower co-payments but a higher monthly premium. If you're your health insurance plan is more to cover if there is a major illness or accident you'll want to look at plans with a higher deductible with a lower premium. Many plans also will make you pay a certain percentage of your medical bills even after you've met your deductible. You'll want to figure out how much you're willing to pay if major illness or accident occurs.

#3 Will My Prescriptions Be Covered? You'll want to ensure that any prescriptions that your currently on will be covered. If not you may be spending more on your prescriptions than if you paid a higher premium to ensure they're covered. Talk to a customer service representative to make sure you get the coverage you need.

#4 Are You Expecting to be Expecting? If so then you'll want to find out if find a health insurance plan that will cover those expenses as well. Don't get lazy when checking on this one. Many plans will say that they'll cover maternity and prenatal expenses, but they don't state how much coverage is included. Make sure you get enough coverage for your expected needs.

#5 Get Multiple Quotes. This may sound obvious, but many people just don't like to shop around. This could be very costly in the long run. With the Internet it's easier than ever to do quick searches to compare insurance companies. Sharing is sexy