If you don't receive your insurance through your employer, what do you need to know to make an informed decision on what would be the right health insurance choice for you and your family?  There are many variables as to what will be a good fit, so let's go over them and hopefully we will arm you with the information you will need.
   First, we need to know about your doctors.
In Utah, some doctors may be part of one insurance carrier's network but not in another.
The main culprit of that is SelectHealth.
Because SelectHealth is the direct carrier for Intermountain Health Care (IHC), some of the doctors in that network are only in that one.
This means that if we find that Humana is the right carrier for you but your doctor is only in the SelectHealth network, you will have to pay a larger deductible (usually twice the in-network) and not be able to have a copay to see that doctor.
If you wished to keep that doctor, you would then have to go with SelectHealth as your carrier.
If you wished to keep Humana, we would have to find you a different doctor.
It all boils down to what means more to you; the doctor or the plan.
  Second is your health.
Unlike employer based insurance, individual and family insurance is fully underwritten.
What does that mean to you? That means that before you are approved for a plan, the carriers are going to take a look at your medical history.
If you have been perfectly healthy, have had clean physicals and have not taken any prescription medications for the last 3-5 years (other than for cold or flu), your insurance application will fly through without any rate increases or delays.
If you had any medical issues, they will take a closer look and could possibly increase the rate you would pay if you were perfectly healthy, exclude coverage for certain issues or deny you coverage altogether.
Knowing how each carrier underwrites certain conditions is very helpful for the process as well.
    Third, you may be wondering who the main insurance companies are.
 In Utah, the largest is SelectHealth.
They command over one-third of the coverage provided here and also operate a couple of the largest hospitals.
There is also Humana, who not provides a large in state network but has a national one as well.
There is also Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, Assurant and Altius.
Who has the best plans? Who is the least expensive? Which one is the right one for you? That will lead us into the last thing-    Last, using a local independent health insurance broker can help you navigate this minefield with relative ease.
A local agent is well versed in finding you the carrier's whose network your doctor or hospital is in, the right plan for your family for the right price as well as the carrier who is best if you are healthy and when you are not.
Their expertise in the carriers can take an insurance search that could take you hours or days and make it minutes.
The best part of it is that since they are independent, they can truly represent your interests since they don't have to tell you that the only carrier they represent is the best thing since sliced bread like captive agents do.
    Whatever you do in your search for coverage, arm yourself with information.
The more information that you have on your options the better.