Friday, March 9, 2007

What You Need To Know When Shopping For Short Term Health Insurance Coverage


The benefits included with short term health insurance coverage are generally not anywhere as comprehensive as those with more traditional permanent health insurance. The level of coverage, however, should not keep you from seriously considering a short term option, since leaving yourself and your family unprotected in the event of a serious injury or illness could prove financially devastating.

Short term health insurance coverage will vary from one plan to another, but most will generally cover inpatient and outpatient physician visits, emergency medical care, surgical procedures, prescription drugs, hospital and intensive care needs, lab and x-ray services, ambulance care, and even some in-home medical care. However, it's important to understand that benefits will vary so be sure to consult closely with your agent before making any decision.

Short term plans are designed to protect against unforeseen illnesses or accidents, rather than provide comprehensive coverage. When considering short term plans, think of them in terms of catastrophic protection as opposed to comprehensive coverage.

When considering your health insurance options, you should know that if you have an option between going with permanent coverage and short term coverage, it is always safer to go with the permanent coverage. The reason is due to the possibility of developing a serious medical problem during coverage with a short term plan; you may not be covered for this problem when the short term policy expires. While this issue may vary with insurance companies, in general this is the case.

In addition, with this new preexisting condition, it would be virtually impossible to obtain an individual policy that would not exclude coverage for your condition. Of course, if you had chosen a group, or even individual, plan to begin with you would have been able to maintain your coverage.

When looking for short term health insurance coverage, you should start with obtaining several short term health insurance quotes. This can be easily accomplished by using the free services of an online health insurance. Using the technology on hand with such companies will allow you to compare multiple plans side by side almost immediately. Such information will allow you to "arm" yourself with the necessary information to choose the best short term health insurance plan in the end.

If you find yourself in a pinch and need to fill a gap in your health insurance coverage, you should serious consider short term health insurance coverage so as to not be left without coverage. Be sure to do your homework by reviewing several insurance quotes and asking questions of your broker. Only by going through this process will you be able to make an effective comparison of the various options and decide on the one short term health insurance plan that is right for you.

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