An illness or hospital stay takes place nearly every second in the United States. Even though you may be perfectly healthy at the moment, you never know when you might fall ill. Finding a policy after the fact is impossible, as individuals can only obtain health insurance at certain times of the year or for certain qualifying events.
A comprehensive health insurance policy provides you with financial protection from the unfortunate consequences of an accident or illness. There are many things to consider in choosing the right policy for you.
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Child-only health insurance does exactly what you’d think it would do: it covers children–and only children. That’s opposed to most other health plans, which focus on covering just adults, or adults and their dependent children. As for what child-only health insurance covers, well, that’s not as easy to summarize. The reason: people looking to buy or obtain this coverage can do so in a couple of different ways.
One way is to buy a child-only plan through the private market. Another is to buy a plan through one of the state health insurance exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act. Medicaid is another option, depending on your circumstances, as is the government-run Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Gap health insurance policies allow you to receive coverage on medical expenses before your deductible has been met. For certain individuals with high deductibles or large copayments, paying a small monthly premium for gap health insurance coverage can potentially lead to significantly lower medical expense.
Vision care insurance will often cover routine eye health expenses such as eye exams, contact lens fittings, contact lenses, and eyeglass lenses and frames. Some plans may even provide a discount on LASIK procedures and other corrective surgeries.
The costs of dental care can be expensive. Dental care can be as simple as twice-yearly checkups, or it may involve oral surgery, getting a full set of dentures, or needing a crown, any of which can be quite costly. On the other hand, dental insurance products for individuals and employer groups are generally low enough in cost to be very affordable. In addition, most insurance plans pay 100% for check-ups every 6 months, so those who purchase it begin to benefit right away.
Short-term health insurance is a type of health plan that can provide you with temporary medical coverage when you are between health plans, outside enrollment periods, and need some coverage in case of an emergency. Generally, these plans can be kept up to 364 days. Most companies will require medical underwriting to determine eligibility.
Employer-sponsored health insurance is a health policy selected and purchased by your employer and offered to eligible employees and their dependents. These are also called group plans. Popular types of group health insurance plans include health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, point of service (POS) plans, and preferred provider organization (PPO) plans. Providers, covered services, and the cost of health insurance will vary based on plan type.
We are offer both small and large employer group plans. We work with business owners and Human Resource personnel to provide quotes from different insurance carriers.
The federal Health Insurance Marketplace, which is also called the “Marketplace” or “Exchange,” is the website where individuals can browse various health care plans available under the Affordable Care Act.
Generally open enrollment for the marketplace occurs every year from November 1, thru January 15th. The Health Insurance Marketplace will have many different health insurance plans from many different health insurance carriers in one place. The plans will have different benefits and different premiums.
The health insurance marketplace offers tax credits that can be used to help make the premiums more affordable. There are eligibility and income requirements to receive the tax credits. See below for a few:
Individuals must meet the following criteria in order
to be eligible for premium credits:
You must file income taxes. While premium credits can be distributed directly to the insurer in advance, they must be reconciled through one’s individual tax returns. Married persons must file a joint tax return to receive the credit.
Individuals who have little or no tax liability may be eligible for premium credits. You must enroll in a Marketplace Exchange Plan. Persons who are residing in a state with an established Exchange and are not incarcerated or undocumented aliens maybe eligible.
You must not be eligible for other acceptable coverage. Premium credits will be available for individuals who do not qualify for minimum essential coverage available through Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Programs, CHIP, coverage related to military service, or an employer-sponsored plan that meets affordable & essential benefits tests. If your employer “offers ” affordable coverage, you are not eligible for a tax credit.
An individual health plan is one that you buy on your own and you pay the full cost of the plan. It is not offered by a group such as an employer or school.