Health insurance can be broken down into two broad categories:

Traditional and Managed care. Within those categories, there are four basic types of plans:

Traditional indemnity plans, which are now often called fee-for-service plans; PPO, or Preferred Provider Organizations; POS, or Point-Of-Service plans; and HMOs, or Health Maintenance Organizations.

No one type of health care plan is better than the other. It really depends on your needs and preferences. Some people enjoy the autonomy offered by fee-for-service plans, while others prefer the low costs associated with closed-panel HMOs. Also, as health insurers compete for business, distinctions among the types of plans may blur.

Traditional Health Insurance

Up until about 30 years ago, most people had traditional indemnity coverage. These days, it's often known as "fee-for-service." Indemnity plans are a bit like auto insurance: you pay a certain amount of your medical expenses up front in the form of a deductible and afterward the insurance company pays the majority of the bill.

Advances in modern medicine increased the cost of providing health care and made it possible for people to live longer. Those advances caused many insurance companies to look for ways to reduce their costs of doing business, giving managed care the boost it enjoys today.

Fee-for-service

For years, indemnity or fee-for-service coverage was the norm. Under this type of health coverage, you have complete autonomy when it comes to choosing doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. You can refer yourself to any specialist without getting permission, and the insurance company doesn't get to decide whether the visit was necessary. You don't, however, have complete autonomy. Most fee-for-service medicine is managed to a certain extent. For instance, if you're not already incapacitated, you may need to get clearance for a visit to the emergency room.

On the down side, fee-for-service plans usually involve more out-of-pocket expenses. Often there is a deductible, usually of about $200-$2,500 before the insurance company starts paying. Once you've paid the deductible, the insurer will kick in about 80 percent of any doctor bills. You may have to pay up front and then submit the bill for reimbursement, or your provider may bill your insurer directly.

Under fee-for-service plans, insurers will usually only pay for reasonable and customary" medical expenses, taking into account what other practitioners in the area charge for similar services. If your doctor happens to charge more than what the insurance company considers "reasonable and customary," you'll probably have to make up the difference yourself. Traditionally, preventive care services like annual check-ups and pelvic exams haven't been covered under fee-for-service plans. But as the evidence mounts that preventive care can prevent more costly illnesses down the road, some insurers are including them.

Fee-for-service plans often include a ceiling for out-of-pocket expenses, after which the insurance company will pay 100 percent of any costs. Needless to say, the ceiling is usually pretty high.

In a nutshell, fee-for-service coverage offers flexibility in exchange for higher out-of-pocket expenses, more paperwork and higher premiums.

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