Today heath insurance is available in several formats:
- Group Health Insurance
- Individual Health Insurance
- Short Term or Temporary Health Insurance
- Student Health Insurance
- Medicare Supplement Insurance
- Travel or New Immigrant Health Insurance
Group Health Insurance:
Group health insurance is more often defined as employer sponsored plans. With these plans your employer selects the insurance carrier or health plan which is offered to full-time and potentially part-time employees. In most states small group insurance is written on what is called a "guaranteed issue" basis. Guaranteed issue means that the insurance company or health plan will take all enrollees regardless of health status or medical history. Even in states where guaranteed issue plans exist insurance carriers also have the ability to underwrite and determine an appropriate rate for the risk they are going to insure. What this means is the final rate offered to the employer can vary from the quoted rate.
Individual Health Insurance:
Individual health insurance is available in many states to individuals and families who either do not have access to an employer sponsored plan, or who prefer to have their own plan with the individual carrier of their choice, or in some cases a separate plan for their dependents.
Individual insurance may be for you if the employer sponsored plan that is offered to you is more expensive than what you can afford or obtain in the individual market.
In most states the individual insurance carriers have the ability to evaluate the insured risk factors through medical underwriting. With full medical underwriting a carrier may be able to accept an applicant and their dependents, or potential decline the applicant and/or their dependents, or decline to cover certain medical conditions which is often referred to as a ride or waiver of medical coverage. When a carrier places a rider or waiver on a medical condition, what they are saying is they will insure you or your dependent for insurance, except for certain medical conditions which may present adverse risk for the insurance company.
As a result In Texas for example, if an individual is unable to obtain individual insurance and if no group insurance is available the Legislature in the State of Texas created a health insurance risk pool to provide health insurance to these individuals. As a result of the Affordable Care Act legislation will change the function of the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool.
There have been continual changes in the Individual Health Insurance industry and with Health Care Reform that will change even further. To get the latest on the most competitive products in the market, give us a call or click the contact button. We're only a phone call away.
What a fast and convenient way to get individual health insurance. Simply click here:
Short Term or Temporary Health Insurance
Temporary or short term insurance is for those individuals who may be between jobs or who may have a longer than average waiting period for coverage at a new employer. Temporary insurance should be viewed more as a limited benefit, used for short periods of time until a permanent insurance solution is available.
For more information click on the Temporary Health Insurance button on the left.
If you're in a hurry and want to enroll today, click on the link below to connect to one of our partners. Health Plan Administrators, Inc. (HPA), administers the temporary insurance product, Secure STM. Secure STM is insured by Standard Security Life Insurance Company, a member of the IHC Group. From the pop up window you can quote and enroll in temporary insurance right on-line and have it effective as soon as tomorrow.
https://www.hpainsurance.com/qt/SecureSTM/default.aspx?agent=jcarlough
Student Health Insurance
Student insurance is typically offered in two versions. First, through a secondary school (college) for their students or through independent agents such as Carlough and Associates.
Student insurance resembles the benefit offering of short term or temporary insurance and typically has much lower lifetime maximums of coverage. Before purchasing student insurance always check with your child's college or university to see if they sponsor a plan themselves. In many cases this can be a better alternative to purchasing a plan on the open market. If that option is not available we have access to plans to suit your needs.
Medicare Supplement Insurance
As the name implies, Medicare supplement plans are designed to supplement what is offered to American citizens who are age 65 or older and selected disabled individuals. If you are eligible for Medicare, you should take the time to investigate the Medicare supplement and/or alternative coverage options available to you, such as Medicare supplement plans and Medicare HMOs.
Our firm is NOT connected with or endorsed by the United States Government or the federal Medicare program.
Travel or New Immigrant Insurance
Thinking of traveling abroad, don't forget to double check you existing health insurance policy to see if coverage is available worldwide. If not travel insurance is definitely a worth while investment.
Another classification is new immigrant insurance for individuals who are visiting the U.S. from a foreign country and plan to spend anywhere from 30 days to 6 months or more in the U.S.
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