The recent world events of the Coronavirus outbreak have many individuals concerned about their health insurance coverage. Many people have found themselves asking questions like, “Do I have enough coverage?” or “Should I add on a supplemental plan?”
On the other hand, some people may find themselves without coverage at all, whether they didn’t have any before, or as a result of job loss. Both situations can cause huge amounts of stress and anxiety for individuals and families facing decisions about whether to get more coverage or update their current coverage.
Loss of Insurance Coverage: What Are Your Options?
If you suffered a job loss due to the pandemic, you have two main options: purchase your own insurance or use COBRA, which allows you to keep the same plan your employer used.
What is COBRA?
COBRA allows you to maintain your coverage for up to 18 months, but it has pros and cons. These make sense for you if you have a chronic condition, or you take a high-cost prescription drug that’s covered by your group’s plan, in those cases it may be worth considering to utilize COBRA. There are however, programs that can be found for individuals to have access to high-dollar prescriptions for a much lower cost. Sometimes, even FREE! These programs can be utilized by a health agent that specializes in individual, customize-able plans.
When you have COBRA, you’re responsible for the entire cost of your insurance coverage that your employer pays, not just the amount that was previously deducted from your paycheck, and this can be a true shock when seeing how much your coverage truly costs. Many families just can’t afford continuing to pay for their insurance, and often make the difficult decision to go without coverage and hope for the best. There is a solution for this, many families are now choosing to work with an individual, private carrier that offers a customized plan that offers the same benefits as an ACA product, just without the added cost for items you don’t want to purchase. In addition, many carriers are now taking customers that have pre-existing conditions.
If the cost of COBRA isn’t the right choice for you or your family, this could be a great time to find a health insurance agent that specializes in Individual plans that can help you search for plans that cover you where it matters, there are multiple options when it comes to your healthcare and many details need to be taken into consideration deductible amounts, prescription drug programs, co-pays for doctor’s visits, and the biggest issue, feasibility.
Finding an Alternative Health Insurance Plan
If the cost of COBRA isn’t the right choice for you or your family, this could be a great time to find a health insurance agent that can help you search for plans that cover you where it matters, whether that’s a wide choice of options of health professionals to choose from, prescription drug programs, or reasonable co-pays for doctor’s visits.
Still Have Coverage? Want Additional Coverage? What Are Your Options?
If you still have health insurance, you may be wondering if you have adequate coverage. Here are a couple of changes you may want to consider as we continue to move through this uncertain time:
If you have a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account (HSA), any coronavirus testing and treatment can be covered by your plan without hurting your status. (Normally, you wouldn’t get any services covered by your plan until you’ve reached that high deductible.) This adjustment includes telehealth visits, and is valid through December 31, 2021.
Additionally, many people don’t know that there are supplemental hospital indemnity plans that can help boost current coverage to help with hospital stays, lab work, and more. These plans have been created in an effort to help individuals and families cover hospital costs that may not be covered by major medical insurance plans. Additionally, these types of plans are a solution that supplements both traditional HDHPs and HSA-compatible HDHPs, providing a supplemental benefit to help cover hospital bills.
Hospital indemnity insurance is a solution that supplements both traditional HDHPs and HSA-compatible HDHPs, providing employees with a supplemental benefit to help cover their hospital bills.
If you’re concerned about your current healthcare coverage, please reach out to us. With Good Faith Health Insurance, we actively try to find the right fit for you, your family, or your business. As independent agents, we’re able to find products with different carriers in order to keep premiums low while keeping the quality of products high.