|
Humana Health Insurance got its start in the 1960s when two men pooled their resources to build a chain of nursing homes. Originally known as Extendicare, the company later decided to drop the nursing homes and get into the business of building hospitals.
Humana Health Insurance became known over the years for a multitude of pioneering ventures. For starters, its planners came up with the idea for dual nursing unit corridors, placing nurses in the center of a ward and able to travel in either direction, with the patient rooms or beds laid around the perimeter of the ward. This logistically efficient type of unit was later duplicated by builders of all types of healthcare facilities. Humana Health Insurance also subsidized the artificial heart research of Dr. Robert Jarvik and Dr. William DeVries.
In the 1990s, Humana segued into the health insurance business. It provides coverage for patients in all fifty states, and it also actively promotes its Medicare Advantage supplemental insurance.
Humana Health Insurance takes pride in offering a wide variety of health insurance products through employer-sponsored plans:
• HDHP plans are high deductible health plans. You are essentially betting that you will have very low medical expenses throughout the year. Your premium is very low, but the insurance will not pay for anything until you have paid off a deductible that’s at least $1,000—usually higher.
• HSA accounts go hand-in-hand with HDHP plans. You establish a savings account to help you pay for non-covered expenditures. Because you and your employer pay for the health insurance plan using pre-tax dollars, both of you enjoy several tax expenditures. As a result, many employers are enticing their workers to join HSA health insurance plans by contributing lump sums into their accounts. Humana Health offers advisers to help you determine if this kind of plan is right for you.
• The Humana Health website offers a handy chart for comparing Flexible Spending Accounts with Health Savings Accounts and Personal Care Accounts, available at http://www.humana.com/members/plans/group/pop_compare_accounts.asp. You can learn important details: For example, you cannot roll over the money in your Flexible Spending Account, but you can do so with an HSA. Either you or your employer can contribute to an FSA or HSA. With an HSA, third parties can make contributions to your account as well. With a PCA, only your employer can contribute. No matter what kind of health insurance plan you opt for, this is one of the best charts we’ve seen.
Humana Health Insurance offers individual plans for those who are self-employed or those who have no health insurance through work. Choose an affordable plan with a high deductible or higher-premium plans with deductibles as low as $1,000.
Transition insurance is available for those who are in-between job. If you are working for a temporary agency, or if you are a young adult who is no longer covered by your parents’ plan, you can choose this option. Humana Health offers PPO plans with a range of deductibles to fit your needs.
Humana Health Insurance also offers dental plans, discounts for vision and prescriptions, chiropractic and acupuncture services, and even life insurance plans. You can choose these as stand-alone plans or as supplements to your health insurance plan.
| 