An important caveat
The majority of hospital-surgical policies do not cover lengthy
hospitalizations and costly medical care. If you find that you need
these types of services, you may rack up huge medical bills unless
you have other insurance.
Catastrophic coverage
This type of policy pays hospital and medical expenses above a
certain deductible and provides additional protection if you have
either a hospital-surgical policy or a comprehensive policy with
a lower-than-adequate lifetime limit. Catastrophic plans usually
have extremely high deductibles -- $10,000 and beyond -- and a maximum
lifetime limit that may be high enough to cover the costs of major
catastrophic illness. The bad news? You foot the first $15,000 of
a disastrous illness. The good news? You may save yourself from owing
the millions in medical bills you would accumulate without any insurance
at all. These policies are NOT a substitute for broad medical coverage
because the benefits are limited in amount and relegated to specific
illnesses. This type of policy may not be available in all states.
Specified or dread-disease policies
These policies provide benefits only if you get the specific disease
or group of diseases named in the policy. (For example, a policy
may cover only medical care for cancer or complications from diabetes.)
These policies are NOT a substitute for broad medical coverage because
the benefits are limited in amount and relegated to specific illnesses.
This type of policy may not be available in all states.
Hospital indemnity insurance
This type of policy pays you a specified amount of cash benefits
for each day you are hospitalized, up to a designated number of days.
These cash benefits are paid directly to you, and can be used for
any purpose you choose. (This is useful for meeting out-of-pocket
expenses not covered by the other insurance.) Some contain limitations
on pre-existing medical conditions that you may have had before your
insurance takes effect. Others contain an elimination period, which
means that benefits will not be paid until after you have been hospitalized
for a specified number of days. These policies are NOT a substitute
for broad medical coverage because the benefits are limited in amount
and relegated to specific illnesses. This type of policy may not
be available in all states.
Medicare supplement insurance
Are you over 65? Have you signed up for Medicare within the last
six months? If so, you are eligible for guaranteed issue on this
type of policy, sometimes called Medigap or MedSup. This private
insurance helps cover the gaps in Medicare coverage. (Medicare is
the federal program of hospital and medical insurance primarily for
people age 65 and over.) Ten standard Medicare supplement policies
currently exist, and they are all PPOs. Any insurance company that
offers medicare supplements must offer all 10 standard plans. MedSup
HMOs are also available.
Long-term care policies
These plans cover the medical care, nursing care and certain in-home
care (home health aides or physical therapy, for example) that you
might need if you ever are unable to care for yourself due to an
extended illness or disability. Most long-term care policies pay
a fixed dollar amount, typically from $40 to $200 a day, for each
day you receive covered care in a nursing home. The daily benefit
for at-home care is usually half the benefit of nursing home care.
Keep in mind
Some state insurance departments may require a face-to-face meeting
with an agent who has received special certification to sell individual
long-term care plans.
Disability income insurance
If an injury or illness prevents you from working, this plan will
provide you with an income. While there are other possible sources
of income for the disabled, the amounts paid are often limited and
many restrictions apply. Disability income insurance benefits are
usually 60% of your income at the time of disability, although cost-of-living
adjustments may be available on certain policies. When shopping for
disability income insurance, read the fine print! Some policies only
pay benefits if someone is unable to perform the duties of their
occupation. Others pay only if the person cannot work at any job.
Make sure you also look for policies that cover both accidents and
illnesses.
Dental insurance
Paying out-of-pocket for yearly dental checkups probably won't
break your bank. But what happens if you need more serious dental
work? A root canal or crown can easily cost over $1000. Some health
insurance plans include dental coverage as part of your benefits
package. If not, you have the option of purchasing separate dental
insurance. Dental indemnity or Fee-For-Service plans allow plan participants
to visit any credentialed dentist or dental specialist they wish.
The participant pays the dentist at the time of service and gets
reimbursed according to the plan's coverage. This is the plan for
those who enjoy the freedom of provider selection and don't mind
a higher monthly premium and greater out-of-pocket expense. Dental
Maintenance Organization (DMO) plans require members to seek all
services through their assigned dentist. These affordable plans offer
preventive services at little or no cost to the member. (The plans
differ in premium and copay levels.) Dental PPO (Preferred Provider
Organization) plans offer patients the choice of an indemnity plan
and the affordability of a managed care plan.
Vision insurance
Vision coverage also might be included in a health insurance benefits
package. If not, it may be purchased separately -- and is usually
provided in the form of a Vision Maintenance Organization (VMO) or
PPO network. Coverage generally includes yearly eye exams and a percentage
of the cost of eyeglasses and contact lenses. Some plans cover all
or a part of the cost of laser corrective surgery as well.
How do you get insurance? Find out here ... >> click here |
