There are various types of plans, including preferred provider organization (PPO), health maintenance organization (HMO), point of service (POS) plans, and high-deductible health plans with a health savings account.

The PPO plans give you greater flexibility than other individual health insurance options. Visits to medical specialists do not require referrals from primary care physicians. But these plans do provide a greater percentage of coverage if you visit doctors in the plan network.

For HMO plans, you pick your primary care physician that manages your health care. But generally, you must choose from a network of hospitals and doctors. Typically, you bear a low copayment for office visits, but the plan generally doesn’t cover care from outside their network.

POS plans combine a little bit of the PPO and HMO options. These plans act like an HMO when you visit hospitals and doctors with their network but provides the option of using doctors outside their network as well. Note that POS plans normally require a referral to cover doctor visits outside their network.

The high-deductible health plans paired with a health savings account (HSA) feature a high deductible. So anything above this amount is available for coverage. But you are able to use funds from the HAS to cover medical expenses. And the contributions you make to the HAS are tax-deductible.