Short term health insurance
Health insurance has become a necessity for almost all people these days. There are several reasons of why people go in for health insurance. One is that the cost of getting a treatment for any kind of ailment has become very expensive and secondly people often cannot afford the high costs of medical treatments.
Health insurance can be of various types. Also the time for which health insurance policy can be taken varies. A long term health insurance plan is the one that can be taken for a long period of time. A short term health insurance is a type of insurance plan in which the duration for which the policy is taken is very short. Generally the time period for a short term plan varies between 30 days and 180 days.
Once the time period of a short term plan expires, the policy has to be renewed. By renewal of the policy it is meant that the insurance policy has to be further extended so that one can get the maximum benefits from the policy. A person can also claim the insurance policy within the time period of the policy. In this case many insurance companies do not issue a new policy to the same person. If the policy is not claimed and the period for which it has been taken expires, the insurance company does not pay the health benefit to the concerned person.
A major advantage of the short term health insurance plan is that it is less expensive than the regular insurance plans. The amount that a person has to pay for purchasing the insurance plan and the amount of premium that has to be paid is very small. The rate of premium varies from one company to another and is also different for different regions but is nominal. The rate of premium also depends on various factors as well.
Since the short term health insurance plans are for a short period of time, they are suitable for people who are between jobs or have part time jobs. These are also suitable for people who are waiting for a long term or permanent insurance plan. Also these insurance plans do not cover pre existing conditions. Pre existing health conditions are the ones for which a treatment has been going on for 3 to 5 years.
Short term health insurance plans can be purchased by individuals for themselves. Employers can also purchase short term plans for providing the medical expenses of a group of employees. The duration of the plan purchased depends upon the person buying the plan and may also depend upon the discretion of the insurance company.
A short term health insurance plan does not cover preventive care in routine. However, if a person becomes ill during the period for which the plan has been purchased, all medical expenses are borne by the insurance company. In this case hospital fees, the money spent on medicines and diagnostic tests etc. are all covered by short term insurance plans.