Short Term Medical Insurance

9/19/2008

Short Term Medical Insurance is an option for health insurance that is frequently overlooked.  Short Term Medical insurance is a major medical insurance that is available in Oklahoma.  It comes with deductible and co-insurance, but is usually 30% to 35% less expensive than typical individual health coverage.

Short Term Medical offers rate advantages due to the limited length of coverage.  Oklahoma allows 30 days to 12 months of coverage under the policy.

Some who would benefit using Short Term Medical insurance are college graduates who may have a job waiting after graduation, but have an imposed period of several months before health benefits begin.   Short Term Medical insurance is also excellent coverage for individuals who are between jobs, part-time or seasonal employees, recently divorced individuals who no longer have coverage with a spouse, or temporary employees.

Workers who have recently been laid off can use Short Term Medical insurance while searching for another job.  For example, a family of 4 who uses COBRA coverage during the job search will pay approximately $ 1122 per month for insurance coverage.   There is also a 2% administration fee for COBRA.  Individual health insurance coverage for the same family will cost approximately $ 840 per month.  Short Term Medical insurance will cost approximately $ 417 per month for the family of four.   During the time that the Short Term Medical insurance policy is in effort, the base benefits are very similar to most major medical policies; however, it does not cover certain expenses such as maternity benefits or pre-existing conditions so you need to talk with an agent to know what is right for you and your family.

Another important benefit of Short Term Medical insurance is that it qualifies as “creditable coverage” under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines.  Under federal and state law, if a person has a break in health insurance coverage of 63 or more consecutive days and then becomes eligible under a new individual or group health insurance plan, the new carrier can choose to exclude coverage on pre-existing health conditions.

If you are a healthy individual with short term health insurance needs, Short Term Medical insurance may be just what you need to fill in the gap.

Contact John Krogh at AASK Insurance to guide you to the right policy for you and your family.