Fee-for-Service or indemnity plans are the oldest type of health coverage out there, providing you with the greatest extent of flexibility. You are absolutely free to choose the doctor, specialist, surgeon or even the place you will receive your medical service from and it doesn’t require any approvals or referrals from other institutions. So what’s the catch?

The drawback of Fee-for-service plans is that they are quite costly and usually have higher deductibles than managed care plans. Besides, you will also have to pay a large part of your actual medical bill out of pocket. That’s the price you have to pay in order to obtain the flexibility provided by these plans. But this doesn’t mean that there are completely no restrictions with fee-for-service plans. Read the rest of this entry