Individual medical insurance provides benefits for medical care. Prescription assistance programs might be included in some policies. Various plans may well provide for payment of health bills incurred on a reimbursement basis by paying benefits to the policy holder, payment on a service basis by paying those who supply the services directly, or payment of an indemnity by paying a fixed sum regardless of the total charged for medical expenses. Medical expense or hospitalization insurance could be written on an individual or group basis. Some of these policies will provide prescription help.

Though there are a lot of types of benefits offered, private health expense coverage can by and large be categorized as basic health expense insurance, major medical insurance, comprehensive medical insurance, and special policies. These Programs ought to cover prescriptions because prescription drugs help so many patients. The largest part of these plans have essentially been replaced by managed care options and are no longer offered as stand-alone policies. These types of programs have been modified and replaced in answer to changes in the health care field relative to cost control and market competition.

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

As the name implies, hospital expense coverage offers benefits for expenses incurred during hospitalization. Hospital indemnities are by and large classified into 2 broad categories:

• Room and board, as well as nursing care and special diets

• Miscellaneous health expenses, as well as x-rays, laboratory fees, prescription medication, medical supplies, and operating and treatment rooms

In certain cases, surgical benefits might be incorporated for selected types of surgery and related costs. Hospital expense insurance provides benefits for daily hospital room and board and various hospital bills while the insured patient is confined to the hospital. The policy can provide for a guaranteed dollar amount for the daily hospital room and board benefit, although the trend is in the direction of healthcare insurance of not more than the semiprivate room charge unless a private room is medically required. The room and board benefit may possibly be paid on either an indemnity basis or a reimbursement basis, depending on the individual policy.

Indemnity policies are sometimes called dollar amount plans. Room and board rates fluctuate by geographic location, but it is not rare to find room and board rates ranging from $400  to $500  per day or more.

More often than not, the maximum number of days is from 40  to 450 . More commonly, room and board expenses are paid on a reimbursement basis. This is {frequently referred to as an expenses-incurred basis~This is also known as a expenses incurred basis~This is often times called a expenses incurred basis}. Under this deal, the policy will reimburse in one of two methods.

• The actual bills for a semiprivate room are covered.

• A percentage of the actual expense is paid, with no definite dollar limit.

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

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