A Beginner’s Guide To Temporary Or Short Term Health Insurance Plans

When you finish college then you might find that you are no longer covered by your family care health insurance plan and that you will need to find some sort of cover until you start work and qualify for an employer’s health care plan. In the same way, if you have just taken up a new job, you might find that you need to work for some time before qualifying for his health care scheme. These are just two of the many reasons that result in a need for cheap short term health insurance.

But what exactly is short term health insurance coverage?

Well, as its name implies, it is health insurance coverage that gives health cover for a short period of time to permit you to keep cover while you are moving from one permanent health insurance plan to another. Coverage is generally issued for anything from one month to one year, though many companies today limit plans to a maximum period of six months. In many cases insurers also understand that it is not always easy to know exactly how long you will require short term cover and therefore are frequently flexible about permitting you to extend cover past the original expiry date if needed.

Temporary health insurance policies generally provide the same sort of cover as permanent plans but there are several very important differences.

Plans are generally strictly indemnity policies and will not give cover for preventative treatments, like check-ups, and will also exclude such things as optical and dental treatment. Work-related injury and illness and pre-existing health conditions are also often excluded.

Your short term health insurance policy will usually provide cover for emergency medical treatment, prescription medicines, hospital treatment, laboratory tests, ambulance care and, in a few cases, at-home medical treatment.

So far so good, but how can you arrange short term health insurance coverage?

Your first step should be to decide how many weeks or months you require cover for and exactly when you wish it to start. You then need to locate an agent who specializes in short term health cover.

Examine any plans offered carefully and pay special attention to any exclusion clauses and do not be afraid to ask questions about any concerns you may have. Check through your application and make sure that all of your personal information is correct before you sign anything. Also, do not forget to keep a copy of all of the paperwork for your own files.

The cost of short term health insurance will vary with the type of coverage that you pick. However, you can keep the cost down by selecting to have a high deductible attached to the plan (the amount of money which you must pay towards your health care before your plan kicks in). For example, you could opt for a 50/50 co-insurance option (the split in payment for each bill after your deductible has been met) instead of the more normal 80/20 ratio.

Also, don’t forget that there may be some extras that you may want to think about depending on your particular circumstances. For example, with the high and rising cost of prescription drugs, you might be better off buying cover instead of leaving it off.

Unquestionably the most important thing you have to remember is to look at any low cost health care insurance plan carefully and make sure you are getting the coverage you want and which you will be paying for.