Health Insurance Basics
Premiums, deductibles, copays, networks and plan types, explained plainly.
How Health Insurance Works: Premiums, Deductibles and Cost Sharing
How premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance and the out-of-pocket maximum fit together, with a worked example of one hypothetical plan year.
Read · 6 min read →Health Insurance BasicsOut-of-Pocket Maximums: What Counts and What Doesn't
What the out-of-pocket maximum covers, the 2026 and 2027 federal ceilings, what never counts toward it, and how the limit works on family plans.
Read · 6 min read →Health Insurance BasicsHMO, PPO, EPO and POS Plans: How the Network Rules Differ
How HMO, PPO, EPO and POS plans handle networks, referrals and out-of-network care, plus questions to help you decide which rules fit you.
Read · 6 min read →Health Insurance BasicsHigh-Deductible Health Plans: IRS Rules for 2026 and 2027
How HDHPs work, the IRS deductible and out-of-pocket figures for 2026 and 2027, the new Bronze and Catastrophic rule, and trade-offs to weigh.
Read · 6 min read →Health Insurance BasicsReading an Explanation of Benefits: What Each Line Means
What an Explanation of Benefits shows, how to match it to a provider's bill, what partial denials mean, and how to spot medical identity theft.
Read · 6 min read →Health Insurance BasicsSummary of Benefits and Coverage: How to Read and Compare
What the federally required Summary of Benefits and Coverage tells you, section by section, and how to use it to compare health plans.
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