Individual medical insurance provides benefits for medical care. Prescription assistance programs might be included in some policies. Various policies might provide for payment of health charges incurred on a reimbursement basis by paying benefits to the policy holder, payment on a service basis by paying those who supply the services directly, or payment of an indemnity by paying a prearranged sum regardless of the sum charged for health bills. Medical expense or hospitalization insurance may well be issued on an individual or group basis. Many of these policies will provide prescription help.

Though there are many types of benefits available, individual medical expense insurance can normally be categorized as basic medical expense insurance, major medical insurance, comprehensive medical insurance, and special policies. These policies ought to cover prescriptions because prescription drugs help so many patients. The largest part of these plans have for the most part been replaced by managed care options and are no longer offered as stand-alone programs. These types of plans have been modified and replaced in response to changes in the health care field relative to cost control and market competition.

Basic coverage provided by a personal health expense policy includes hospital expense, surgical expense and medical expense. These three basics may well be issued together or individually. Normally this is written as "first dollar" insurance, which means it does not possess a deductible.

Like the name indicates, hospital expense healthcare insurance provides benefits for visits incurred throughout hospitalization. Hospital indemnities are frequently classified into 2 general categories:

• Room and board, with nursing care and special diets

• Miscellaneous medical expenses, including x-rays, laboratory fees, prescription drugs, medical supplies, and operating and treatment rooms

In certain cases, surgical benefits may well be built-in for specified types of surgery and related expenses. Hospital expense healthcare insurance offers benefits for daily hospital room and board and various hospital charges while the insured patient is confined to the hospital. The plan could provide for a particular dollar amount for the daily hospital room and board benefit, although the tendency is toward health insurance of not more than the semiprivate room charge unless a private room is medically needed. The room and board benefit could be paid on either an indemnity basis or a reimbursement basis, depending on the particular plan.

Indemnity plans are every now and then called dollar amount policies. Room and board rates vary by geographic location, but it is not rare to notice room and board rates ranging from $350  to $700  per day or more.

Typically, the maximum number of days is from 90  to 500 . More frequently, room and board expenses are paid on a reimbursement basis. also called an expenses incurred basis~This is commonly called a expenses incurred basis~This is often times called a expenses incurred basis}. Under this deal, the plan will pay in one of two ways.

• The actual charges for a semiprivate room are covered.

• A percentage of the actual expense is paid, with no particular dollar limit.

Under the first reimbursement option, the insurance carrier will pay the full actual semiprivate room rate, regardless of what it is. Under the second reimbursement option, the medical insurance carrier pays a specific percentage, regardless of what the actual charges are. A universal percentage is 80%.

To recap, under the actual expenses type of reimbursement plan, the policy will pay the actual amount charged for a semiprivate room without regard to a specific dollar limit. Under the percentage style of reimbursement plan, the plan may pay a specified percentage of the actual bill.