Short Term Health Insurance Coverage
While we hope it never happens the day may come when you lose your job and, as a result, you also lose your health insurance. Fortunately, short term health insurance coverage (sometimes also referred to as temporary health insurance) is something which can cover your health care needs from the time you lose your job until you are eligible for benefits from your new employer.
But where should you start looking for short term health insurance policies in the US?
Your first stop may well be one of the internet search engines and these will produced a laundry list of directories, each of which will provide a list of companies that offer short term health care plans and even a few that will actually tell you exactly what they are. Knowing exactly what a short term health insurance policy is and what it is not will help you shop for the right policy and keep you from being scammed.
The first thing that you need to know is that each state has its own particular brand of short term health insurance to help you hang onto the health insurance cover from your previous employer. In Minnesota, for example, it is called a Cobra Plan and covers you until you get a new job. As a matter of interest, state law also requires your employer to tell you about your eligibility for Cobra coverage.
Commercially available short term policies usually run from one to twelve months, although a large number of providers limit their policies to six months, and will offer you most of the benefits that are provided by their long-term counterparts. The most significant difference you will see is that a temporary health policy is non-renewable and if you want to keep your coverage you will have to arrange a further new policy. Bear in mind that this form of policy is only intended for short-term and not for long-term use.
A few things that will not normally be covered are preventative care and wellness checks, as well as dental and optical care. Short term plans are also very strict on denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. Coverage can usually be extended to cover your spouse and children and most policies range in price from around $25 to $100 per month.
Bearing these things in mind, you can start to look through the results of your search and examine the lists of companies to find one which will meet your needs.
Another excellent place to turn for cover is your own home or car insurance provider as it is likely that they will also have a health insurance policy that you can get. If you buy the policy from your own home or car insurer there may be an additional discount available to you for having multiple policies with them.
Your local phone book will also list a number of places where you can get short-term health insurance coverage in your area and finding somewhere local can be an advantage if pre-approvals are needed.
With a good understanding of what short-term health insurance is and where you can get it, you will now be able to secure a policy that will meet your needs.
Short term health insurance quote
Broker: A salesperson who has obtained a state license to sell and service contracts of multiple health plans or insurers, and who is ordinarily considered to be an agent of the buyer, not the health plan or insurer.
Lifetime maximum benefit amount: The maximum dollar amount set by an MCO that limits the total amount the plan must pay for all health care services provided to a subscriber in the sub-scriber's lifetime.
Outcomes measures: health care quality indicators that gauge the extent to which health care services succeed in improving patient health.
Section 1115 waivers: Waivers that states could obtain from the federal government which allowed them to set up managed care demonstration projects.
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