Using Health Care

• How Can I Get the Most from My Plan?
• How Do I Obtain Care?
• What if I Have to Go to the Hospital?
• What if I Am Not Satisfied with My Care?

The time to find out what rules your plan has on hospital care is before you need it.

Planned Hospitalizations

Check with your doctor about going to the hospital. Unless it is a medical emergency, the cost of your hospital care may not be covered. Ask these questions:

• What hospitals are part of the plan network?
  
• Is there a limit on how long I can stay in the hospital?
  
• Who decides when I am to be discharged?
  
• Will needed followup care, such as nursing home or home health care, be covered by the plan?
  
• If I have a serious medical problem, will the plan provide someone to oversee care and make sure my needs are met?
  

Ask how your plan handles getting a second doctor's opinion on whether surgery or another treatment is needed. Are second opinions encouraged or required? Who pays?

Emergency or Urgent Care