The Facts About Interim Medical Insurance
If you have just finished college you might find that you are no longer covered by your parent’s health insurance policy and will have to find cover until you start a job and fall within your employer’s health insurance plan. Likewise, if you have recently started work, you could find that you are required to work for a few weeks before you are eligible to join his medical insurance scheme. Of course these are merely two of the many reasons that lead to a need for temporary medical insurance cover.
But just what is short term medical insurance coverage?
As its name suggests, it is health insurance which provides medical cover for a short period of time to allow you to maintain 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, although a lot of companies nowadays restrict cover to a maximum period of six months. In the majority of cases insurers also understand that it is not always easy to know precisely how long you are going to need temporary cover for and so are frequently flexible in permitting you to extend cover beyond the original expiry date if you need to.
Interim medical insurance plans normally provide similar cover to that of permanent policies but there are some important differences.
Policies are usually strictly indemnity policies and do not cover you for preventative treatments, like check-ups, and will exclude optical and dental coverage. Pre-existing medical conditions and work-related injury or illness are also normally excluded.
Your interim medical insurance policy will typically cover you for emergency medical treatment, medication, hospital and intensive care treatment, laboratory and x-ray work, ambulance care and, occasionally, in-home medical care.
How do you go about getting a short term medical insurance plan?
The first thing you have to do is to decide how long you need cover for and when you want it to start. You then need to locate an agent who specializes in temporary medical insurance.
Look at any plans offered with care and pay special attention to any exclusion clauses. Ask questions if there is anything which you do not understand or are worried about. Additionally, review your application and ensure that your personal information is correct before signing anything. Lastly, do not forget to keep a copy of the paperwork for your own files.
The price of a temporary medical insurance policy will vary according to the type of cover you choose. However, you can keep costs down by choosing to have a high deductible added to the plan (the amount of money that you must pay towards your medical bills before the plan begins to pay out) with a 50/50 co-insurance option (the split in payment of each bill between the insurance company and you) rather than the usual 80/20 split.
Do not forget too that there are a number of extras which you may want to consider, depending on your personal circumstances. For example, with today’s high cost of prescription medicines you may be better off purchasing coverage rather than leaving it off.
The most important thing is to read through any interim health insurance plan carefully and ensure that you are getting the cover that you want and that you will be paying for.
Posted in Healthcare Professionals, Healthcare Services