Health Insurance Basics

The health insurance premium can be determined by factors such as medical history, entry age, gender, lifestyle, policy term, plan opted, expenses related to marketing and services, saving and investment, policy underwriting, and mortality rate.

Coinsurance is the percentage of the costs of services that are split between the patient and the insurance provider, with each responsible for a certain percentage of the total cost. In most cases, health insurance providers pay 70-90% of the costs, leaving the patient with the remaining 10-30% of the bill.

A copayment is a fixed fee that patients are required to pay for specific medical services, in addition to their monthly premium. The fees vary depending on the service provided, such as doctor's visits, specialist visits, prescription drugs, and emergency room trips.

It is important to pay attention to copayments and coinsurance when selecting a health insurance plan because they directly impact the out-of-pocket costs for the insured individual, and can significantly affect the overall affordability and accessibility of healthcare services.

The purpose of a health insurance premium is to provide periodic payments to an insurer in order to avail medical coverage and ensure that the policy remains active.

Data collected from multiple subjects over time

Monthly sales data for a group of retail stores over two years

It captures individual and time-specific variation