Guides / After you buy
After the carrier issues the policy.
Use this page once a policy is issued. Sending an application is not the same thing. Plan features differ. Your policy and the brochure control.
What should you do before a doctor visit?
Check the network on your ID card, then call the office and confirm they still participate.
- Use the provider search for the network name on your ID card. Then call the office and confirm they still participate. Provider search
- At check-in, read the insurance company name exactly as it is printed on the card.
- If you have two plans, give the primary card first and the second card after.
- On a fixed indemnity plan, the amounts on the benefit sheet are what the plan pays. They are the cash benefit, not a copay. If an in-network office asks you to pay the whole visit up front, ask them to bill the plan first, and call Seth.
- At the pharmacy, show every card that came with the plan. That includes any separate prescription card the plan included.
- Ask the doctor whether a longer supply makes sense. The brochure says whether prescriptions are covered at all, and how.
- Some plans include a phone or video visit. Check the brochure before you rely on it.
- Call Seth at (786) 606-0139 before the first visit with a new doctor. Text only if you already opted in on a form.
What is an explanation of benefits?
An explanation of benefits is not a bill. After a visit, the carrier may send one. It shows how the claim was handled. Look at four lines.
- What the provider billed. The starting amount on the claim.
- The network reduction, or allowed amount. If the provider is in network, this is the lower rate they agreed to accept.
- What the plan paid.
- What you may owe. That is the amount the provider can bill you.
Do not pay a medical bill until you have the explanation of benefits for that date of service. If an in-network provider shows no network reduction, or the balance looks wrong, do not pay it yet and do not agree to a payment plan yet. Send it to Seth.
If you also have accident or critical illness coverage, keep the itemized bill. You may need it for that claim.
How do you ask for an itemized bill?
Copy this note, fill in the brackets, and send it to the provider. It is a request for a document. It is not a claim form.
Payment and draft dates.
Payment is set up in the carrier application or in the member portal after the policy is issued. Many plans use a bank draft. This website does not take card numbers or bank account numbers. To change a draft date, use the portal, or call Seth and he will point you to the right screen.
Cancellation rules, and whether any premium comes back, are in the policy. This page does not state them. Ask Seth.
Contacts to keep at home.
Fill this in on paper or in your own notes. Do not send it through the website. Leave out medical history.
Your name
Phone and email
Person to call in an emergency, and their phone
Doctor's office name and phone
Pharmacy name and phone
Where you keep the ID card
Seth Brand, (786) 606-0139, seth@brandedinsurancegroup.com
Related: how buying works, fixed indemnity, and common questions.
Questions about your own coverage go to Seth. This page cannot answer them.