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Temporary Health Insurance Plans
Are you in transition? Temporary health plans offer health protection over a brief time frame, usually from one month to one year. If youýve wound up between health plans for one reason or another, they can be just what the doctor ordered. Not having the coverage you need means putting off necessary treatment or paying expensive medical bills out-of-pocket -- risks everyone wants to avoid.
It's important to remember that temporary health insurance plans aren't designed to offer coverage for pre-existing conditions, or long-term healthcare needs. They are a cost-effective and readily available stop-gap, but it's their limited scope that makes both things possible.
Who Needs Temporary Health Insurance?
- Temporary or Part-time employees.
- Those of us between jobs. (If you've been laid off or are in-between jobs, you'll be able to keep the coverage your former employer offered for up to 36 months because of 1985s Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation or COBRA Act.)
- Recent college grads that've fallen off a student health insurance plan.
- Young adults who are about to lose their dependent status under a parent's health plan. If you're 18 or older but aren't a full-time student, you'll probably be dropped from your parents' health insurance.
- Those temporarily without insurance for any other reason. For instance, if you're currently on strike, if you've recently discharged from military service or if you've retired early and need a bridge between your employee health plan and Medicare.
How Does Temporary Health Insurance Work?
Temporary health insurance works the same way that most Fee-for-Service plans do. They gives you the freedom to see any doctor or go to any hospital you like. Most will cover everything from hospitalization and emergency services to diagnostic testing, prescription drugs and surgery.
However, temporary health coverage will not usually pay for preventative care (physical exams, immunizations, PAP smears, etc.) or pre-existing conditions.
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