How Health Insurance Works Tip Sheet

Healthcare in the United States can be very expensive. A single doctor’s office visit may cost several hundred dollars and an average three-day hospital stay can run tens of thousands of dollars (or even more) depending on the type of care provided.  This is where health insurance comes in. There are many types of insurance in the US, so there are lots of different rules about how they all work. All qualified health plans include emergency services, hospitalization, laboratory tests, and prescription drugs. As a complementary document to PAF's Health Insurance Education Series, this tip sheet breaks down the various insurance plan types as well as common terms you need to understand.   Abstract source