Buying health insurance can be very complicated and confusing since there are many type of health insurance offered by insurance companies. Especially when you have always been covered under your parents' health plan, spouse's health plan, or workplace. These little tips might help you before purchasing your own health insurance.

1. Checking insurance plans with your insurance provider

Each person must have their preferred primary care physician or specialist, so the first thing you have to do is checking whether your insurance provider accepted your preferred doctor or not. You need to check their other plan and future plan as well. You also have to notice upcoming network change by asking their up-to-date network list. It will be waste if you decide to purchase an insurance which your doctor is on the list but since you are not aware of their change, your doctor in fact no longer in the network. Not all of your current providers accept the same insurance. You might have to replace with different providers or pay for out-of-network rates. And you also need to make sure about prescription drugs (if you take it on regular basis). If you are in this situation, you can always ask and consult with your insurance provider. 

2. Look out the exchange

You can purchase health insurance from two markets: the government market and the private market. Comparing both market can give your best coverage in affordable price. If your household income is low, you may ask for a subsidy to help pay your insurance premiums. However, you need to meet the qualification to get subsidy. You can also check the exchange which run annually. In the exchange, you can get exchange-based plan. 

3. Comparing Choices in Private Market

Use comparison shopping sites or search directly in health insurance company websites. You need to provide your basic information such as your gender, date of birth, household income, household size and zip code. The sites will provide list of plan choices and important details about each plan, such as premium, co-pay, deductible, out-of-pocket maximum and covered prescription drugs. You must buy marketplace plan through the marketplace to be eligible for a subsidy. 

4. Considering using insurance broker

Getting insurance broker can save your time and energy. If you think it is exhausting and take a lot of time, contact an insurance broker. They work independently from many different companies and the most important thing is using them won't cost you any penny. They will get commission from the insurance company whose plan you buy.