Two Insurance Options to Know About: Short-Term and Long-Term Care
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| 2 min read
You may not realize it, but there are two different kinds of insurance plans in addition to the traditional type of coverage you may have: short-term insurance and long-term care insurance. Short-term health insurance is a temporary health option that provides coverage when you are between other insurance plans (if you’re between jobs, for example). Typically, these non-renewable plans cover you for a period of time between 30 days and a year. They can be a cost-effective coverage option because they typically have lower premiums than major medical coverage plans do. But don’t be fooled into thinking that a short-term plan is just a mini version of a traditional insurance plan. Here are some additional details on how short-term health insurance works:
- You can be denied for short-term health insurance if you have a pre-existing condition.
- You can be denied payment or dropped when you’re sick if you didn’t disclose a pre-existing medical condition during the application process.
- You can be denied coverage for non-health reasons (such as status, age, gender or other factors).
- Short-term plans can lack other protections that are made available by the Affordable Care Act. As a result, they don’t count as minimal essential coverage, which means you will not avoid the penalty for not having health insurance.
Long-term care insurance, on the other hand, helps provide for the cost of long-term care beyond a predetermined period. This coverage can pay for the cost of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and home health care when people are no longer able to take care of themselves. It’s estimated that seven in 10 Americans will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime. Different from health insurance or Medicare, which help with more immediate medical expenses, long-term-care insurance helps people care for chronic illnesses or disabilities. It’s cheaper when you sign up for this insurance by age 60, and you have to be healthy enough when you apply to qualify for the coverage. According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, people should expect to pay an average of $3,335 per year to cover a husband and wife who are healthy 60-year-olds. Prices can vary dramatically, depending on various factors including age of purchaser. For more information on various health insurance plans offered at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Life Secure Insurance Company please visit this website. For more information about different health insurance terms and policies, check out these other posts:
- A Glossary of Common Insurance Terms
- 7 (More!) Common Health Insurance Terms Explained
- The 5 Costs That Make Up Your Health Plan
Photo credit: Pete
