How to choose the
right health insurance plan
Choosing the best health
insurance plan for yourself or your family can truly be a
nerve racking experience. Perhaps this will help.
First decide
Permanent or Short Term?
Permanent policies
take about 30 days to underwrite, but once you have it, the policy
is yours as long as you want it. This will be your best bet if
you plan on being responsible for your own coverage indefinitely.
Give careful consideration to your deductible, co-pay, and policy
exclusions because you may not be given a chance to change it.
The nice thing about a
permanent policy is, it is yours as long as you want it and pay for
it. It can't be cancelled or changed without your knowledge or
permission. This is not true with employer provided group
health benefits.
Expect your health
insurance price to go up every year. This is just natural, and
a part of our current situation with health care. At this point
though, your rates are based upon a population of similar policy
holders. The company won't single you out and adjust your
price based upon past claims or anticipated risk.
If you and your family
are still in good health at renewal time, you can (and should) start
the shopping process again. However, if you happen to have
some health concerns and expected claims, your health insurance
company can not cancel you or elect to non-renew your policy.
Basically, the health insurance company is stuck with
you but you can cancel them any time you so desire.
Short
Term Policies can be placed in force almost instantly.
The underwriting is very short and the application questions
are limited to only a few. Basically you can buy a
short term policy unless you are suffering from a major
illness or are pregnant. If you or your spouse plan to
be pregnant, their is some very special information that you
should know about maternity insurance.
Because
pre-existing conditions are not covered and the policy is
not renewable, short term policies are usually much cheaper
than the traditional major medical insurance. The
cheaper price also makes it possible option for those who
may not be able to normally afford health insurance.
Several
life situations may arise that can make a short term policy
become a logical solution.
- recent
college graduates
- worker
between jobs
-
someone waiting for a permanent policy
Do you have
a question about health insurance?
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