Comprehensive coverage plan:
This type of insurance provides much better coverage compared to the fixed coverage plan. In such insurance plans, you have to first pay the deductible(which can be either per year, or once per policy period), after that insurance company pays 80% for first $5,000 for eligible medical expenses, you pay remaining 20%. After $5,000, insurance will pay 100% up to policy maximum for eligible medical expenses.

In most such plans, you have to pay 20% co-insurance for first $5,000 expense once per policy period. (Protection America from IMG has the option to buy-up the co-insurance, at 5% extra premium, so that it will pay 90% for first $5,000, you pay 10% for first $5,000). You get coverage 100% coverage up to policy maximum after first $5,000 expense, once per policy period.

Some plans have 20% co-insurance for first $5,000 expense for every sickness/incident, and you get 100% coverage up to policy maximum after first $5,000 also per every sickness/incident.

Notable Exception: For Diplomat America and Diplomat Long Term, the maximum total payment under the policy for an Illness that is first manifested, treated or diagnosed during an Insured Person's first thirty(30) days of coverage, commencing as of the Insured Person's effective date, is $1,000.

Most comprehensive coverage plans are PPO plans. That means that insurance company has contracted many providers all across United States who participate in the PPO network, accept the insurance card, bill the insurance company directly and charge you the network negotiated fees which are typically lower than their regular fees.

Comprehensive coverage plans also provide travel related benefits such as loss of checked luggage, terrorism (optional or standard), hazardous sports coverage (optional), trip cancellation coverage (optional in some plans).

Please look at the brochure of each plan for more details.

Fixed coverage plan:
This type of insurance is much cheaper than comprehensive coverage plans. It is also called scheduled benefit plan. In such type of insurance plans, you have to first pay the deductible(which can be either once per every sickness/accident or once per policy period), then insurance company pays a set maximum amount for every procedure such as $55 for doctor's office visit, $450 for ambulance service, $330 for emergency room visit, so on and so forth. You have to pay any difference beyond that yourself. There is no way to figure out how many percent of actual expenses would be covered in such insurance.

$50,000 or $100,000 policy maximum you see is the overall limit for total of all the scheduled benefits, and it does not mean that all your medical expenses will be completely paid upto $50,000 or $100,000.

Even though prices for such insurance plans are attractive, you should really understand what you are purchasing so that it will meet your expectations in case you need to use it.

If there is no PPO network in any fixed plan from any company, you can visit any doctor or hospital you like. You get a health insurance card that has all the information that the provider may need to bill the insurance company directly. Therefore, most providers would do so. However, in case a particular provider declines to do so, you would first need to pay upfront and file for reimbursement.

Fixed coverage plans are basic medical insurance plans and don't provide many travel related benefits such as loss of checked luggage.

Please look at the brochure of each plan for more details.