Unemployment and temporary health insurance

Temporary Health Insurance

With rates of unemployment rising, many people in this country are finding themselves uninsured. If you are one of those people, it is a good idea to explore your options for short term health insurance. Depending on the length of previous employment, most people will have the option of paying to continue their coverage through their previous employer. You may also be able to purchase your own policy for short term health insurance . Another instance where you may want to purchase short term health insurance is if you plan to travel. Depending on your health insurance policy, you may have little or no coverage when traveling. Purchasing temporary medical insurance is always a good idea if you find yourself uninsured.

While state laws vary, some unemployed people may have the option to continue health coverage through their last employer. While this temporary health insurance will generally be more expensive than when you had it through your employer, it is an option. Generally when an individual has health insurance through their employer, their employer pays all or some of the premium. However, if you find it necessary to continue coverage for short term health insurance, you will have to pay the premium by yourself. The cost associated with this temporary health insurance will depend on the quality of health insurance you had at your last employer. If for instance, you only had basic coverage, the cost of your short term health insurance shouldn’t be too bad. Yet, if you had extensive health insurance at your last employer, the cost of continuing your coverage as short term health insurance will be much more expensive. Keep in mind that this short term health insurance is exactly that, only available for a limited time and should not be seen as a permanent fix to being uninsured. The laws were enacted to protect a persons health while they are in between jobs.

If you plan to travel, carefully go over your insurance policy to be sure that you are covered while you are away. Your policy may offer little or no coverage, especially when you are traveling outside of the country. Call your health insurance provider to see if they offer travel insurance. If you can not get temporary health insurance through your provider, you travel agent or booking agent may offer short term health insurance for travel.

When you find yourself unemployed or traveling and you are in need of temporary health insurance, explore the many options available to you. You want to be sure that your temporary health insurance offers similar coverage to your regular plan. However, you may also want to consider the fact that it is only temporary and therefore, you may be willing to lower the coverage. You should, however, realize that if you become sick while you have short term health insurance, it may be difficult to get full coverage when your situation changes. Whatever circumstances led to the necessity for acquiring temporary health insurance, are surely going to change. So don’t panic and make your decision accordingly.