Buying Temporary Health Insurance
Author: Donald Saunders
Category: Health
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The day comes when you lose your job and, together with it, you and perhaps your family also lose your medical insurance plan. Fortunately, short term medical insurance is something which can keep you protected until you [get|secure|find} a new job. A short term medical insurance plan will cover your health care requirements from the date on which you lose your job until you are eligible for benefits under a new employer's scheme.
Where should you begin looking for a short term medical insurance plan? Like a lot of people today, your initial stop will probably be one of the online search engines and these will provide you with a laundry list of directories. These directories will each provide a list of companies which offer temporary medical insurance and even a few which will tell you exactly what it is. Knowing just what temporary medical insurance is and, more importantly, what it is not will help you shop for the best plan and will keep you from being scammed.
Firstly, every state has its own brand of temporary medical insurance plan to assist you in holding onto the medical insurance from your previous employer. For example, in Minnesota it is known as a Cobra Plan and will cover until you have a new job. While we are on the subject, state law also requires an employer to tell you about your eligibility for Cobra coverage.
Commercial temporary medical insurance policies normally last for from one to twelve months, though many insurance companies limit their policies to six months, and will provide many of the benefits which are offered on their long term policies. The biggest difference you will see is that the plan is not renewable and if you wish to hang on to your cover you will have to arrange a further new plan. Keep in mind that this type of plan is intended only for short term use and not for long term use.
Some things which will most likely not be covered are preventative care and wellness checks and short term medical plans will also not generally provide cover for optical or dental care. They are also often very strict on denying cover for pre existing conditions. It is also generally possible to get cover extended to your spouse and children. Lastly, you will find that the majority of policies will range in price from around $25 to $100 per month.
Keeping this in mind, you can start to look through your search results and examine the lists of companies to locate one which meets your requirements.
Yet another very good place to look for cover is to your current home or car insurance provider as it is possible that they will also carry a medical insurance plan which you can get. If you are purchasing the plan through your own insurer, there may well be a discount available to you for having more than one plan with them.
Your local phone book will also list a number of places for you to buy short term medical insurance cover in your area.
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Keywords: health insurance, medical insurance, health care, health cover, health, insurance, finance
View Count: 263
Date Submitted: 9/4/2008
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