A Guide To Short Term Health Insurance Plan

Short term health insurance plan provides a good temporary health insurance to those who have lost coverage due to recent life or job changes, work as a seasonal worker, graduated recently and no longer covered under parent’s plan or have taken the early retirement.

Short term health insurance plans are easy to understand temporary coverage for people going through a transition in their lives. Its tenure ranges from one month to one year, but to get insurance policy for more than 12 months, it is best to choose the other individual/family long term health insurance policies.

Benefits Of Short Term Health Insurance Plans

Most of the short term health insurance plans are non-renewable, but they cover almost all the medical services covered by permanent medical insurance. But this plan is suitable only for the people in the process of change in insurance covers, and must not be used as a replacement for regular comprehensive policy.

Short term health insurance plans guard against accidents or sudden illness, but they do not cover the pre-existing medical condition. Medical services that are covered under short term health insurance plans are prescription and emergency medicine, lab and x-ray tests, home or hospital care, and ambulance cost. It can also be extended to cover the dependents and spouses.

Short term health insurance plans are quite affordable, and monthly premium is generally under $100. The plan can be used with any hospital or doctor in the country, and is not limited to a pre-determined set of physicians. The plan provides coverage in case of accident, injury or hospitalization due to any kind of illness. Some plans also cover certain transplants, home health care and service from registered nurse.

Individual short term health insurance also covers for inpatient and outpatient services, and all the medical board charges. It is however important to know that short term health insurance plans do not provide coverage for dental or vision, and pregnancy and childbirth. If policy holder develops any serious condition after the coverage comes into effect, he or she will not qualify for any other plan after expiration of current policy.

The coverage of short term health insurance plan starts as soon as the insurer gets the proposal form and first premium payment. There are no medical examinations required, as these plans are non-renewable. Though, short term health insurance plan does not offer all the benefits offered by full health insurance plans, but is a good choice to fill the gaps in health insurance to keep one protected.

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A Guide To Short Term Health Insurance Policy

Short term health insurance policy is suitable for people currently waiting for other plan approval or are in the middle of changing jobs. It is also a good choice for students who have just passed out and for those who don’t have any other medical health coverage.

Short term health insurance policy provides the coverage for 1-12 months, and for the longer periods, there are other individual and family health insurance policies available. Short term policies are usually non-renewable, and hence must be considered only by people in the middle of policy changes, and must not be used as a replacement for the general comprehensive insurance policy.

Coverage Of Short Term Health Insurance Policy

Short term health insurance policy is designed to cover the sudden accident or illness, and does not cover the pre-existing medical condition. These policies also do not cover the preventive medical care benefits like physical examination, vision and dental care, and immunizations.

Services that are commonly covered by the short term health insurance policy are prescription and emergency medicine, lab and x-ray tests, home/hospital medical care, and ambulance charges. Most of the policies extend the coverage to dependents and spouses as well.

Short term health insurance policy is quite affordable, and standard policy usually has monthly premium less than $100. But the cost could vary as per the deductible, which is the amount paid upfront by the policy holder each year for the medical expenses, before insurance starts paying up. The deductible can be as low as $250 and can be as high as $2,500.

A good short term health insurance policy offers a reasonable ceiling on the cost incurred by the policy holder.

Advantages Of Short Term Health Insurance Policy

This type of coverage costs less than the traditional medical coverage. In case of injury, hospitalization or accident, this policy covers for the treatment, reducing the policy holder’s expenses to minimum. These plans can be used with any hospital or doctor within the country and not just with a selected number of physicians.

Some of the short term health insurance plans also cover certain transplants, mammograms, PAP smears, and home health care such as services from a certified nurse or health aide.

It is however important to note that these plans do not cover pregnancy and child birth. If you get some serious condition after the coverage becomes effective, after the expiry period, you may not qualify for other plans. Most of the short term health insurance policy providers do not cover the people over 65 years of age. It is also not advisable to have double coverage, as it may not give you good value for money.

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