“Choosing a health insurance plan can be complicated. Knowing just a few things before you compare plans can make it simpler.
The 4 “metal” categories: There are 4 categories of health insurance plans: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. These categories show how you and your plan share costs. Plan categories have nothing to do with quality of care.
Your total costs for health care: You pay a monthly bill to your insurance company (a “premium”), even if you don’t use medical services that month. You pay out-of-pocket costs, including a deductible, when you get care. It’s important to think about both kinds of costs when shopping for a plan.
Plan and network types — HMO, PPO, POS, and EPO: Some plan types allow you to use almost any doctor or health care facility. Others limit your choices or charge you more if you use providers outside their network.”

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“When it comes to health insurance, it’s easy to know if you’re uninsured: you either have coverage, or you don’t. But being underinsured is more of a gray area. You have health insurance, but because of a high deductible or other out-of-pocket costs, it doesn’t cover as much as you might need. Your income may not be high enough to offset the coverage gaps. 

Below, we break down what counts as being underinsured, the financial risks involved, and options if you find yourself in that position.”

In 2016, Richard Timmins went to a free informational seminar to learn more about Medicare coverage.

“I listened to the insurance agent, and basically, he really promoted Medicare Advantage,” Timmins says. The agent described less expensive and broader coverage offered by the plans, which are funded largely by the government but administered by private insurance companies.

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By the time Eric Tennant was diagnosed in 2023 with a rare cancer of the bile ducts, the disease had spread to his bones. He weighed 97 pounds and wasn’t expected to survive a year with stage 4 cancer.

Two years later, grueling rounds of chemotherapy have slowed the cancer’s progress, even as it has continued to spread. But chemotherapy has also ravaged Tennant’s body and his quality of life.

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