I recently entered the adult world and kind of got a crash course in this. So let me keep it simple (or at least as simple as our insurance is).

There are 2 types of health insurance (as far as I know), HMO and PPO.

HMO is what I use. You pay your monthly premium. These are typically cheaper than the other insurance option. When you go for a checkup or most things, you have a set co-pay. Say, for example, my co-pay for a sick visit is $20. So I go to the doctor for a sick visit. I pay $20, and then I'm done. Insurance handles the rest. Sounds pretty good, right? Well there are some caveats here.

1. You need to specify a primary care physician (PCP) from a list of doctors that insurance works with. You can only go to a doctor that in that network. And it severely limits who you can see. You like your current doctor? Well they're not in the network. Sorry.
2. You can't go to a specialist without a referral from your PCP. So say you need to go to a dermatologist for some skin condition. You need a referral from your PCP first.

PPO is nicer when it comes to flexibility. But it comes with a higher monthly premium on average. But there are still some important caveats:

1. You still (typically) have a network. You can still see someone out of your network, but your insurance probably won't cover as much as an in-network doctor.
2. You can see any specialist without a referral.
3. There is a "deductible". Until you meet the said deductible, your insurance won't cover what they said.

So for me, my wife is my dependent. We have no kids. If I got a family PPO, my deductible would be $2000 a year. So if we went to the doctor, we, combined, would have to spend $2000 before our insurance would step in and pay 80% of the costs. Meaning if I had a good year and never went to the doctor, and then something happens and I go to the hospital and am billed $1999, I'm out of luck.

Once I hit that, my insurance kicks in. So if I was charged $2500, my insurance would pay 80% of the $500, and I'd be left with $2000 + 20% of $500.

So, seeing that my wife and I wouldn't spend $2000 unless we had some accident, we'd be better off with an HMO and less freedom. But it costs less, up front and when we go to the doctor.

As if that wasn't convoluted enough, there are middle man "health groups". So for an HMO, I don't pick a doctor. I pick a health group. Then I call the health group and tell them which doctor in their network I'd like to pick. I can call my insurance and switch health groups all together, or I can call the health group and change my physician.

Doesn't sound bad, right? Well, it really wouldn't be, if my average wait time whenever I called the health group (A really well known health group in the area) wasn't a bit over 45 minutes every time they made a mistake (and it's quite often actually). Not to mention that they completely deny they made a mistake every single time.

Are you confused yet? Me too. Now I'm gonna go drive home and hope I don't get hit by a car and go unconscious after which the paramedics take me to a hospital that's out of my network.