EnglishPod

Global View - Health Insurance #D0160

A: Hey honey, how was your day?

B: It was alright. I ran into Bill and we got to talking for a while He’s in a bit of a jam.

A: Why? What happened?

B: Well, his son had an accident and Bill doesn’t have health insurance. This really got me thinking, and I wondered if we shouldn’t look into a couple of different HMO’s.

A: Yeah, you’re right. We aren’t getting any younger and our kids are getting older.

B: Exactly! I searched on the web and found a couple of HMO’s with low co pays and good coverage. The deductibles are low, too.

A: Sounds good, although, do you think we can qualify for insurance? Those insurance companies are real pirates when it comes to money.

B: Well, we don’t have any pre existing illnesses or conditions, so we should be fine.

A: I wish our company or country provided us with healthcare.

B: Not in a million years!

Key Vocabulary

run into - meet or encounter

a bit of - kind of

jam - a problem or difficult situation

look into - investigate

health maintenance organization - Health Maintenance Organization

deductible - a clause in an insurance policy that relieves the

coverage - the extent of the protection provided by insurance

when it comes to - in terms of, about

co-pay - a payment made every time a medical service is needed

Supplementary Vocabulary

prescription - the medicine or remedy ordered by a physician for a patient

exclusion - certain services that an insurance company will not cover in the plan

healthcare - the prevention and treatment of illness and the preservation of well-being through the services offered by the health professions

premium - the amount paid for an insurance policy, often in installments

coinsurance - after the deductible is exceeded, it is when the insured must also pay a percentage of the total cost of services while the insurance company pays the rest. It can be used instead of or in addition to copays