Health insurance can seem complicated if you don’t interact with it every day. But there are a few things that are very helpful to know and will make understanding your health insurance policy much easier.

• Work with an agent

One of the most important things you need to know is to always work with a health insurance agent. No matter how much you read online, you won’t understand everything you should know about health insurance. A good agent has worked with health insurance for many years, and will know much more, and how it will apply to you. This will allow them to help you get a better plan than if you just did it on your own.

• Understand your plan

The second tip you need to know is making sure you understand your health insurance plan. The aspects that you should understand are things like deductibles you will have to pay, max out of pocket, which doctors will be in-network, etc. These are all important things to know, and you should ask your health insurance agent so that you understand what you have in your policy, how it works, and how to go about using it if needed.

• Use in-network providers

If you want to limit the expenses you will have to pay, then make sure to always stick with in-network doctors and other medical providers. If you don’t, then you may be responsible for a much bigger portion of the medical bills.

• Use your insurance once your deductible is maxed

Once you have hit your deductible and out of pocket maximum, your insurance policy will cover everything else! This is a good time to schedule appointments that you may need, and you should do these before your policy deductible restarts.

• Use the benefits

Many health insurance plans offer many benefits. This can be things like gym memberships, fitness trackers, health classes, etc. If your plan includes these types of benefits then you should always take advantage of these! You are paying for them and should get as much value out of your policy as possible.

These are five tips that should help you get the most from your health insurance and make the entire process go smoothly. Again, talk to me or your health insurance agent if you don’t understand your policy or think that you need a better policy. Remember that unless you fall under certain special qualifications, you can only sign up for and make changes to your health insurance during the open enrollment period. This is one of the reasons it is so important to make sure you get a policy that will fit your needs!