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Short Term Health Insurance
By: 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
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 interesting you may find more
articles of the same nature in the
insurance guide located on site.
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