How does health insurance work?

Go see your doctor or other provider when you need a health care service. You may need to pay a copay.

Next, the doctor’s office will send a bill to your health plan for the care you received.

Then, your health plan will send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) showing how much of the bill it paid, if any.

Finally, your doctor’s office will send you a bill for any amount not paid by your health plan.

On the next few pages are some terms and concepts about health insurance and health care. You can use the orange 'go back' and 'next' buttons to go through this information step-by-step, or you can use the menu above to jump directly to a section.