So if your shoulder or back starts hurting and it’s not going away or getting better with stretching or home remedies. But it’s not serious enough for urgent care. What do you do?
Finally have health insurance for the first time, but don’t have a GP or anything. How does this work? Do you just look on local fb pages for recommendations and hope they don’t suck, and push to get referred to a specialist if it’s required? Do you just skip the GP and find a specialist? How do you know what insurance will cover?
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My health insurance company has a portal of in-network doctors I can search. For something like this, a GP is probably what you’d need. Most insurance does not cover specialists without a referral from your GP
Yes, start with the list from your insurance company. Call doctors close to you. If you can get an appointment in a reasonable time and you like them, great. If not, continue searching ones further away. The insurance company will tell you if you can go direct to a specialist.
Call the phone number on the back of your insurance card and ask them. Some policies require you get referrals from your GPA, while others are ok with you making appointments with any in network specialist without a referral.
Most insurance plans have a website where you can sign up and look for a doctor that is covered under your plan. Also your plan determines if you can go to a specialist without a referral. Usually an HMO plan requires a referral and a PPO does not. What I do is Google doctors in my area and check their reviews, then check the insurance website to see if they are covered.