Health Insurance Basics: Plans, Costs and Open Enrollment
Premium, deductible and coinsurance in plain words, a three-kinds-of-year plan comparison, enrollment dates, and how to check a bill against your explanation of benefits.
In Under $15
By Whole Life HQ4 parts · about 4,400 words · printable · read online
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OpenWho it's for
People choosing or checking health coverage, on their own or through a job, who want the terms explained, a way to compare plans and help reading medical bills.
What you receive
- 4 written parts, about 4,400 words
- The five numbers that decide what you pay, and plan types in plain words
- A plan comparison worksheet with a worked quiet, moderate and big year
- Enrollment dates, a bill and explanation-of-benefits check, the No Surprises Act and a yearly check
4 printable pages, in reading order
- Part 1: The words, and how a plan charges you
- Part 2: Comparing plans with a worked example
- Part 3: Where coverage comes from, and the dates that matter
- Part 4: Reading bills, fixing problems and your yearly check
See inside
The first 4 pages, as they print.
Look inside
The first page, word for word. 4 printable pages in total.
Part 1: The words, and how a plan charges you
General money education, not financial advice. This guide explains how health insurance works in the United States so you can read a plan and compare costs. It does not recommend a plan, a company or a level of coverage, and it is not medical, legal or tax advice. Plans, prices and rules change every year. Use the official sources in each part, such as healthcare.gov, cms.gov and consumerfinance.gov, and your plan's own documents.
Health insurance has a reputation for being written in a language designed to confuse. It is mostly a handful of terms and one idea: you pay in several different ways, and the plan pays the rest. Once you can name each way you pay, comparing plans becomes arithmetic.
How to use this guide. Part 1 explains the terms and the ways a plan charges you. Part 2 shows how to compare two plans with a worked example and a worksheet. Part 3 covers where to get coverage and the dates that matter, including open enrollment. Part 4 covers reading bills, what to do when something looks wrong and a yearly check. A made-up example runs through it. Print the sheets or fill them in on screen.
What is in each part
- The words, and how a plan charges you
- Comparing plans with a worked example
- Where coverage comes from, and the dates that matter
- Reading bills, fixing problems and your yearly check
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Downloads included
4 printable pages: see the list
- Part 1: The words, and how a plan charges you
- Part 2: Comparing plans with a worked example
- Part 3: Where coverage comes from, and the dates that matter
- Part 4: Reading bills, fixing problems and your yearly check
They open in your library, and you can print them, once they are yours.
Who wrote it
Written by the Whole Life HQ team.
Not yet reviewed by an outside expert.
We plan to ask a finance educator to review it. Until then it is general information, not professional advice.
General education, not financial, tax or legal advice. For decisions about your own money, talk to a qualified professional.
How you get it
- In your libraryAfter you pay, it is in your library straight away.
- Any devicePhone, tablet or computer. Print it if you like paper.
- Yours to keepIt stays in your account, and you can come back any time.
