Personal medical insurance offers benefits for medical care. Prescription assistance programs might be included in some plans. Several programs may possibly provide for payment of health expenses incurred on a reimbursement basis by paying benefits to the plan holder, payment on a service basis by paying those who provide the services directly, or payment of an indemnity by paying a prearranged amount regardless of the sum charged for health expenses. Health expense or hospitalization coverage can be issued on an individual or group basis. Some of these plans will provide prescription help.

Although there are several types of benefits available, individual health expense coverage can by and large be categorized as basic health expense coverage, major medical coverage, comprehensive medical insurance, and special plans. These plans should cover prescriptions because prescription drugs help so many patients. The majority of these plans have mainly been replaced by managed care policies and are no longer available as stand-alone programs. These types of programs have been modified and replaced in response to changes in the health care field relative to cost containment and market competition.

Basic healthcare insurance provided by a personal medical expense policy includes hospital expense, surgical expense and medical expense. These three basics may perhaps be sold as one or individually. Normally this is issued as "first dollar" coverage, which means it does not include a deductible.

Like the name indicates, hospital expense coverage offers benefits for charges incurred during hospitalization. Hospital indemnities are usually classified into two general groups:

• Room and board, with nursing care and special diets

• Miscellaneous health charges, including x-rays, laboratory fees, prescription medication, medical supplies, and operating and treatment rooms

In a number of cases, surgical benefits could be incorporated for a number of types of surgery and related expenses. Hospital expense insurance offers benefits for daily hospital room and board and miscellaneous hospital charges whilst the insured individual is confined to the hospital. The plan possibly will provide for a specified dollar amount for the daily hospital room and board benefit, even though the trend is toward healthcare insurance of not more than the semiprivate room charge unless a private room is medically necessary. The room and board benefit may perhaps be paid on either an indemnity basis or a reimbursement basis, depending on the specific policy.

Indemnity plans are at times called dollar amount plans. Room and board rates change by geographic location, however it is not unusual to discover room and board rates ranging from $300  to $650  per day or more.

Usually, the maximum number of days is from 70  to 450 . More commonly, room and board charges are paid on a reimbursement basis. This is {frequently called an expenses incurred basis~Frequently known as a expenses incurred basis~This is commonly called a expenses incurred basis}. Under this agreement, the policy will reimburse in one of two methods.

• The actual bills for a semiprivate room are covered.

• A percentage of the actual charge is paid, with no explicit dollar limit.

Under the first reimbursement option, the healthcare insurance company will pay the full actual semiprivate room rate, regardless of what it is. Under the second reimbursement option, the insurance carrier pays a specific percentage, regardless of what the actual charges are. A usual percentage is 80%.

To sum up, under the actual expenses kind of reimbursement program, the insurance will pay the actual amount billed for a semiprivate room with no regard to a specific dollar limit. With the percentage style of reimbursement policy, the program may pay a certain percentage of the actual charges.