Health insurance works the same way as life insurance and auto insurance. It is meant to be a safety net to protect you from a medical and/or a financial catastrophe.

Health insurance is when a large group of people (both healthy and sick) pay an established amount of money for some protection against future health costs. Their money is put together in one fund, called an "insurance pool." When members of the fund get sick or injured and incur medical costs, money is taken from this insurance pool to pay for all or part of their costs.

The health insurance field has a language all its own. The terms insurance carriers and health care providers use can be difficult to understand. We understand that these terms can be overwhelming. For better comprehension, please review the terms in the glossary to familiarize yourself with their meaning.

Be sure to carefully review your insurance documentation to understand how your plan works.