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Short Term Health Insurance
Posted by B2B on: 2005-12-22 10:28:58
Short Term Health Insurance
Joseph Kenny
If you are between jobs or are awaiting another health insurance
policy to come into effect you may find that you have a gap in
your health insurance coverage. This period is a high risk as
you are effectively uninsured when it comes to health insurance.
So what are you to do in this interim period? Well one of the
best options in such situations is to consider taking out a
short-term health insurance policy. This will cover you for a
limited or fixed term.
Usually, short-term health insurance policies last for periods
of less than six months. There are policies that will cover you
for up to twelve months also however. If you need coverage for
periods longer than this, you should probably be considering
standard individual or family health insurance plans.
Application is Simple
One of the benefits of short-term health insurance is that the
application process is somewhat more straightforward. These
policies are really designed to cover unforeseen accidents and
other emergency situations and are not recommended for
comprehensive health protection. They will therefore generally
not cover such advanced features as preventive treatments,
physical and diagnostic tests, immunizations, dental and vision
expenses which you should try to avoid for the period under
which you are covered by the short term plan.
The main concern, and something you should be aware of if you
are considering a short term plan is that they will make you
ineligible for guaranteed issue health plans. These plans are
most commonly referred to as HIPAA plans. They can be very
expensive and are used in cases where the insured has existing
medical conditions, which would otherwise make it very difficult
for you to obtain health insurance. If you think you will need
eligibility for a HIPAA plan, you should not purchase short-term
health insurance. The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act or HIPAA, and state health insurance rights
are important protections and you should seek advice from a
benefits advisor in these regards.
Are you covered?
Short-term health insurance plans will not cover existing
medical conditions. While the exact definition depends on your
circumstances and on state laws, what this means is that if you
have been diagnosed in the last three to five years or have been
receiving treatment for a condition, it will be a pre-existing
condition and you will not get coverage for it under your short
term plan. Therefore, if this applies to you, it is recommended
that you extend your current comprehensive policy rather than
switch to a short-term plan.
About the author:
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the insurance site href="http://www.insure121.com">http://www.insure121.com/
where you will find information, news and links to the leading
providers of insurance in the UK. If you found this article
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