Each year, health insurance plans renew, and sometimes their benefits change. When these rollovers occur, policyholders have to re-enroll in coverage. Sometimes, you will decide switch plans, and sometimes you will simply re-enroll in a nearly-identical policy. However, regardless of whether you get new coverage or keep an existing plan, you will face an entirely new set of costs. Here's some more information on why.

When you re-enroll in your health insurance, what you paid on your previous plan will disappear. You must expect new costs on your new policy. Four of the most common costs paid by policyholders are:

Understanding the Costs of Health Insurance

When the renewed coverage starts, the costs you spent last year for health care won’t carry over to the new plan. You will still have to pay for various portions of the insurance. Four of the most common costs paid by policyholders are:

• Premiums: The premium is your bill you pay your insurer for coverage. You will likely pay your premium each month. Your insurer determines your premiums using a variety of factors. These may include factors like the coverage offered by the plan, and even your age and location. However, insurers cannot use certain statistics to determine premiums or deny coverage. For example, they cannot use your medical history to charge you more for coverage.
• Deductibles: The deductible is the money you will pay every year for your medical services before your insurance pays. For example, if you have a $1,000 deductible, you will pay $1,000 for medical care that contributes to the deductible. After you’ve met the $1,000 deductible, your health insurance will step in to cover care from that point. Often, you can receive certain covered care even if you haven’t met the deductible yet.
• Co-payments: These are fees that you might have to pay when visiting a doctor. Usually, they are nominal. Co-payments often don’t count towards deductibles.
• Coinsurance: Under some insurance plans, the policyholder shares a portion of certain medical costs with their insurer. Coinsurance usually leads to costs even after you've met the deductible. For example, a 70/30 plan is a common type of coinsurance. Under this plan, a patient will pay 30 percent of their medical costs, while the insurer will pay 70 percent. Still, many insurance plans cover the full costs of certain care.

Anticipating how much you will spend on health care in a year will likely vary based on your insurance. You should ask your health insurer for a summary of benefits. This outline can help you know how much coverage your plan offers for certain services. It can also tell how your deductible and other factors affect your anticipated costs.

If you have concerns about what costs might arise when you seek care, talk to one of our Florida health insurance agents. We can help you better understand the specifics of your plan.