Healthcare for Everyone not on Medicare
If you are not qualified for Medicare, which is almost everyone under age 65, then there is really 3 main options.
Major Medical
Major Medical insurance is provided through either an employer or the exchange (commonly known as ACA or Obamacare). These plans cover most of your medical insurance needs and have various costs.
Employers typically charge a monthly premium to their employees to have the medical plan.
ACA or Obamacare – These are plans that have a monthly premium, but might the monthly premium might be subsidized depending on your monthly income. Typically low income earners don’t have to pay much for an ACA Medical plan, while higher income earners may have to pay quite a bit for their ACA plan.
Short Term Medical
Short Term Medical plans and very similar to major medical plans. Many people often substitute their major medical for a Short Term Plan because they tend to cost less. Example, an employer might charge a family of 4 $1500 a month for it’s major medical plan whereas in a Short Term Medical plan it might only cost that same employee $800 a month for the family.
A Short Term plan is renewable for as long as the state you live in allows. Some states only allow for 6 months while others allow for 3 or more years. This means you might have to do a physical every time is renews, but you can renew it as many times over as you’d like.
On of the nice things about a Short Term Medical plan is they have a cap on how much you would every have to pay out of pocket.
Fixed Benefit
A Fixed Benefit plan is a plan with certain amount of “fixed benefits” meaning they will pay up to that benefit… a “fixed” amount.
A Fixed Benefit plan is often lower in cost. These plans can be a good option for people who do no qualify for ACA subsidies mentioned above.
Ancillary
There are gaps of coverage in all the plans above. A way to close or shrink that gap so it does not cost you a lot of money during a medical emergency is by purchasing ancillary policies to help.
What are some ancillary policies?
- Critical Illness – these typically provide a benefit to cover Cancer, Heart Attack, and Stroke.
- Dental – Almost no medical plan includes dental so it’s nice to have some dental coverage as needed.
- Hospital Indemnity – These policies pay out when you go to the hospital.
- Accident – These policies pay out when you have an accident of some kind and need medical care. An example would be if you fall and break your hand, this policy will provide money to help pay for the cost to to go the emergency room or clinic.