Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Supplement: What Is the Difference?
June 11, 2021 No Comments
While Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Part B) covers a wide range of medical expenses, it does not cover everything. Even with a significant
Health Insurance
Catastrophic Insurance Plans
If you are looking for a low price insurance plan, then catastrophic insurance may be the solution. However, you should keep in mind that the low premiums usually attract hefty out-of-pocket costs.
What Is Catastrophic Health Insurance?
Catastrophic health insurance is a type of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. It is only available to people under the age of 30 years or those who qualify for “hardship exemption.”
This health insurance policy is specifically designed to protect you or your loved one in a worst-case-scenario. If you run into an unexpected medical emergency, and your hospital bill runs into thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, a catastrophic policy may come in handy and save you from the financial burden.
While monthly premiums tend to be slightly lower, you are generally required to pay for your medical bills out-of-pocket until you finally hit the plan’s set annual deductible.
What Are Some of the Benefits of Catastrophic Insurance?
In most cases, catastrophic insurance will cover the same minimum health benefits as other health plans under the famous ObamaCare (Affordable Care Act). These services include emergency services, preventive care services, prescription drugs, and much more.
The only difference is that with the catastrophic plan, you will be required to pay for your health costs out-of-pocket until you meet a minimum annual deductible. Once you hit the expected minimum annual deductible figure, your insurance provider starts to pay for most covered healthcare services.
This low price insurance plan covers the following benefits even if you haven’t reached your annual deductible yet:
- Free preventive healthcare services required under the Affordable Care Act. This includes a wide range of services such as immunization and screenings
- Three primary healthcare visits every year
However, catastrophic insurance is quite different from critical illness, short-term, or accident plans; these types of plans tend to protect you (the policyholder) in particular and limited situations.
For instance, the critical illness cover will only protect you against specific health illnesses. On the other hand, catastrophic insurance plans cover the same essential healthcare benefits as any other major medical cover plan once you meet your annual deductible.
Contact Us Today for Inquiries
Do you feel like you still have unanswered questions about catastrophic insurance plans? Feel free to contact us today to discuss your overall healthcare needs with one of our licensed health insurance agents.
Do I Qualify for Catastrophic Insurance?
You must be below 30 years old or qualify for a hardship exemption to be eligible for catastrophic insurance. A hardship exemption means that you cannot afford the cost of regular healthcare insurance because you have declared bankruptcy or meet some other qualifying criteria. Other conditions that can make you qualify for hardship exemption include:
- You have been homeless
- You recently faced foreclosure or eviction
- You had a substantial medical debt that you couldn't afford to pay
- You recently received a shutdown notice from a utility company
- Floods, fire, or any other natural or human made disaster resulted in significant damage to your property
- You were ineligible for Medicaid because your state failed to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act
- You were a victim of domestic violence
- You recently suffered the death of a dependable family member
- Your expenses skyrocketed unexpectedly from caring for an aging, disabled, or sick family member
There are lots of other hardship situations that may qualify you for a catastrophic insurance plan. Therefore, be sure to talk to our experienced insurance experts if you have any questions about a specific situation.
Is this Plan Right for You?
Are you under 30 years and wondering if the catastrophic insurance plan is the right thing for you? Generally, catastrophic insurance may be the right option if:
- You are healthy and rarely visit a doctor
- You want to pay lower monthly premiums or cannot afford the conventional health plans in the marketplace
- You don’t qualify for Medicaid
- You don’t mind paying high out-of-pocket costs
- You only want to be prepared for high medical bills in the worst-case-scenario
- You don’t qualify for a subsidy based on your monthly/annual income
Keep in mind that every situation is different. Therefore, you need to sit down and carefully evaluate your health needs, priorities, and budget to determine what is good for you in the long-term.
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