The Facts About Interim or Short Term Medical Insurance

If you have just finished college you may find that you are no longer covered by your parent’s medical insurance plan and will have to find cover until you start a job and get cover under your employer’s health insurance plan. Likewise, if you have recently started a new job, you could find that your employer requires you to work for a few weeks before becoming eligible to join his healthcare scheme. Naturally these are just two of the many reasons that lead to a need for interim health insurance coverage.

So just what is short term medical insurance coverage?

Well, as its name suggests, it is medical insurance which provides health cover for a short time in order to allow you to maintain cover while moving from one permanent health insurance plan to another. Cover is generally issued for anything from one to twelve months, although a lot of companies nowadays restrict cover to a maximum of six months. In the majority of cases health insurers also appreciate that it is not always easy to know exactly how long you will need temporary cover for and so are often quite flexible in letting you extend cover beyond the original expiry date if necessary.

Short term health insurance plans normally provide similar cover to that seen on permanent policies although there are some important differences.

Plans are generally strictly indemnity plans and do not cover you for preventative treatments, like check-ups, and will also exclude dental and optical coverage. Existing medical conditions and work-related illness or injury are also normally excluded.

An interim medical insurance policy will generally cover emergency medical treatment, prescription drugs, hospital treatment (including intensive care treatment), laboratory and x-ray work, ambulance care and, occasionally, in-home medical care. 

So, how do you go about getting an interim medical insurance plan?

Your first step needs to be to decide how many weeks or months you need cover for and when you need it to start. Then you need to find an agent who specializes in short term health insurance.

Look at any plans offered carefully and pay special attention to the exclusion clauses. Do not be afraid to ask questions if there is something which you do not understand or are worried about. Additionally, review your application and make sure that your personal information is correct before you sign it. Finally, do not forget to retain a copy of the paperwork for your own records.   

The price of a short term health insurance policy will vary with the type of coverage that you choose. You can however keep the cost down by opting to have a high deductible added to the policy (the sum of money which you have to pay towards your healthcare before the policy pay out) with a 50/50 co-insurance option (the split of each bill between you and the insurance company) instead of the usual 80/20 ratio.

Also, do not forget that there are a number of extras which you may wish to consider, depending on your personal circumstances. For instance, with the high cost of prescription drugs you may be better off purchasing coverage instead of leaving it off. 

The most important thing is to read through any temporary health insurance policy carefully and make sure that you are getting the coverage which you want and which you will be paying for.