|
 What
is short term medical insurance?
What
types of situations give rise to a need for short-term medical insurance?
How
broad is the benefit coverage under short-term medical insurance?
What
are some of the limitations of short term medical insurance?
What is short term medical insurance?
Short term medical insurance is high-limit medical expense coverage
for a relatively short period of time. When you buy this type of policy, you
can choose a period of coverage that may be as short as 30 days, or as long
as 180 or 185 days. Several deductible and coinsurance options are available,
with the premium cost varying according to what features you choose. Limits
as high as $2 million are typically available.
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What types of situations give rise to a need
for short-term medical insurance?
Several commonly occurring situations create a possible need for
short-term medical insurance. People who are between jobs and are temporarily
without employer-provided health insurance, people who have been laid off, and
people starting new jobs with a waiting period before new health coverage starts
are good candidates for short-term medical insurance. Graduating students and
college students who temporarily lose coverage under their parents' insurance
(i.e., reclassified from a full-time student to a part-time student) may also
need short-term medical insurance. Since this coverage can usually be purchased
for any prescribed number of days from a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of
180 or 185 days, you can choose exactly the length of time you think you'll
need.
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How broad is the benefit coverage under short-term
medical insurance?
Generally speaking, short-term medical insurance plans cover a
broad range of medical services. Although the definition of covered expenses
under short-term medical insurance may differ from one insurer to another, "covered
expenses" commonly include room and board and routine nursing services during
hospital stays, services in a hospital's outpatient department or in a surgical
facility, physician and surgeon services, X-ray and laboratory services, prescription
drugs, home health care, treatment in a skilled nursing facility following a
hospital confinement, and many other types of expenses normally covered under
a major medical expense insurance policy. Short-term medical insurance has many
of the same exclusions that major medical plans have. Before you buy, carefully
read the exclusions and other sections of a short-term medical insurance policy.
Also give close attention to any provisions that extend coverage beyond the
scheduled expiration date for injuries or illnesses for which medical treatment
began before the expiration date.
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What are some of the limitations of short
term medical insurance?
First, depending on the specific circumstances, the actual need
for coverage may extend beyond the period of coverage originally purchased.
Under short-term medical insurance, you do not have an automatic right to renew
when the original contract expires. And if your health status changes, you may
not qualify for a new insurance policy or an additional benefit period under
the original policy. In this situation you could be left without health insurance
protection. Second, the coverage is typically not continuous between the expiration
of the original contract and any subsequent renewal coverage under a second
benefit period. You must submit a new application for coverage and get approval
by the insurer before the renewed coverage begins. Any medical conditions that
may have developed during the original benefit period will be treated as preexisting
- meaning they're not covered - during an additional benefit period. Third,
other than when the contract is canceled within the first 10 days, premium refunds
generally are not available even in those instances where the need for insurance
ends before the scheduled expiration of the coverage.
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