The Ups and Downs of Temporary Health Insurance

Article source: http://www.insurance-owl.com/. Used with author's permission.

If you're a recent college graduate, or in between jobs, temporary health insurance may be just what you are looking for. As the name suggests, this short term health plan covers from one month up to a full year. And with a very inexpensive price tag, most consumers are thrilled to have finally found a viable health care option. While there are benefits with temporary health insurance, there are a few negative aspects as well.

The temporary health insurance plan in essence, has been developed to secure your security and well-being. Short term plans are not designed for everyday health care; temporary health insurance policies are more of low-cost alternative to the full benefit plans, and were meant as sort of a ÒcrutchÓ in case of serious injury or sudden illness. Although some plans do supply coverage up to a full year, most only offer coverage between one to six months.

A big advantage of the temporary health insurance plan is that you have no preferred care provider. What does this mean? You have the option to go to any doctor you choose. Short term plans also offer fairly extensive therapies and regimens. Some of the services offered are: Hospital care, prescription drugs, follow-up doctor visits, and emergency care.

However, there are numerous fields that are not covered by temporary health insurance. Maternity treatment and care is rarely covered, and doctors visits are seldom included. Preventative care, such as physical screenings and immunizations are also excluded. In addition, pre-existing conditions are not part of short term insurance coverage.

A significant plus for most when researching temporary health insurance has be the extremely low premiums. Also, many plans will let you pay your premiums month to month, or pay annually. However, with the low premiums come higher deductibles. While you may be saving money with the premiums, you could be spending just as much with the deductibles.

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