You will get your healthcare at lower costs if the hospital, doctor or health care facility you visit is the part of network of your insurance company. But if in case you go out of your network for healthcare, it can become much more costly.

You’ll commonly pay all charges for care you get outside of your plan’s network if you’ve an HMO or EPO plan. So, it is essential to carefully consider which doctors and hospitals are in a plan’s network before you purchase it.

PPO plans

Following is a key instance of how in-network and out-of-network benefits compare in PPO plans.

• In-network: You visit a doctor and the complete charge is $250. You receive a discount of $75 because you visited an in-network doctor and our negotiated amount with them is lower. We pay $140. You pay what is left, which is $35.
• Out-of-network: You visit a doctor and the complete charge is $250. You will not receive a discount because the doctor is out-of-network. We yet pay $140, but you will be accountable for what is left, which is $110. It is usually termed as balance billing.

Visiting an out-of-network could mean you will have to pay a major percentage of the charges or the total charges, relying on your specific plan. You might also have to pay a larger coinsurance percentage and have larger annual coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximums.

Few out-of-network services might be covered.

HMO and EPO plans

These plans are distinctive. It does not have any coverage for out-of-network care.

Following are the couple exceptions:

• We will cover treatment no matter where you go if you’ve an accidental wound or medical emergency.
• We might provide you approval to go to an out-of-network doctor or facility if you cannot get the required treatment in your network. We will cover the treatment if you get approval, but you might have to pay the left over charges to the doctor or facility. This is known as balance billing.

Acquire the most out of your proposed health insurance plan. Make certain that your doctor or hospital is in your network.