If you’re looking at health insurance, you know there are lots of plans out there to choose from. However, there are two definitive types available that sorts health insurance plans into two separate categories: group insurance plans and individual health insurance plans. Determining which type of coverage you want to subscribe to means sorting through all the different factors involved so you can find a plan you can afford that gives you the coverage you need. Which type of policy is going to give you the best health care and which one will you be able to afford?

Individual health care plans are plans that insurance companies sell to individuals and their families that aren’t a part of any particular group. This usually means as long as the doctor, hospital or other medical facility accepts insurance from the company you’re subscribing to, you can go wherever you want to receive medical care. Unfortunately individual plans are usually more expensive than group plans and fewer medical facilities accept those policies. This means that under most circumstances an “individual plan” isn’t what most people will ascribe to.

Group policies, unlike individual insurance plans are designed for larger groups of people to enroll in. Because insurance is based on statistics, becoming part of a group plan means that your overall insurance costs are reduced because the overall costs for a large group will be a known quantity so insurance companies know how to mitigate those costs accordingly. Group policies were initially designed for large corporations and other large groups that required some type of membership in order to be eligible. These have since evolved into two basic types of group insurance plans that anyone can become a part of: HMO’s and PPO’s.

Unlike finding individual health insurance plans, HMO’s or health maintenance organizations will require you to select a primary care physician such as a general practitioner in the program that will oversee your health care. Your initial contact for any health care issue will be through them and they will give you a referral to specialists, hospitals and other health care facilities except in the case of an emergency. This means all your health care needs are managed from a single point.

PPO’s or preferred provider organizations allow you to go to any doctor, specialist or facility in the network. Similar to finding individual health insurance policies where you’re looking for flexibility, these give you the cost benefits of a group policy with a lot more flexibility. There are still restrictions in that you have to find medical care that is a part of the network, but you don’t have the limitation of a primary care provider to manage your health care program. » Read more: Group VS Individual Health Insurance: You Do Have A Choice?