Health Choices

Short term health insurance plans are truly helpful, and this is more so when you are switching over jobs and are not currently under any sort of group insurance coverage, or when you are still engaged in studies. The usefulness of short term health insurance plans should be understood completely so that you can take advantage of these resourceful programs. Their essence is to provide you an insurance coverage for a limited time period, which answers the need of health insurance coverage during the intermediary period between job changes.

Such plans can give you effective coverage for a period of six to twelve months before you actually take up standard health insurance coverage and other family insurance plans. To get a short term health insurance, you have to comply with very simple procedures unlike with standard insurance plans. The aim of a health insurance plan is to protect the individual from sudden eventualities like sickness or catastrophes. Facilities for preventive care, vaccinations, dental treatment, or eye treatments are not included.

Being covered by a short term health insurance plan disqualifies you from enjoying the benefits of other personal health plans like the HIPAA plans. HIPAA are health plans for people with pre-existing diseases and are not standard health plans. Therefore, HIPAA plans are contradictory to such health insurance plans and make them inapplicable. Consult your health insurance advisor to understand the details of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA.

In brief, short term health insurance plans are not effective if you have been found to have a pre-existing disease during the past three to five years. You should discuss this condition with experts on health insurance subjects or with your employers in order to arrive at a viable solution.

The short term health insurance plan can be availed of with either an upfront payment or regular payments per month. If you are certain about the length of spintime you’re going to be in need of a health insurance plan, it is economically beneficial to pay a single upfront premium; otherwise you can safely choose the monthly mode of payment.

For the single payment preference, you should reveal the tenure of the plan, which expires automatically after the lapse of the coverage period. You cannot demand any refunds even if you have been covered by other standard health plans during the coverage period of your health insurance plan. If you require an extension of the plan, you have to make an application to this effect. You can get extensive coverage under your short term health insurance plan in a onetime payment mode.

The short term health insurance plan becomes effective within 24 hours of your application submission along with the payment made through your credit card or any other fast payment system you select to pay with. You have a grace period of 30 days to make the payment after the submission to make your health insurance plan effective.