Five Tips for Getting the Most From Your Short Term Medical Insurance

Each year more than 10 million people buy short term medical insurance plans. Some use it while between jobs. Others use it in place of regular (but more expensive) health insurance. Short term medical insurance can be a fantastic value because it combines liberal high quality “freedom of choice” type health coverage at much lower cost than traditional medical insurance plans. But knowing these few tips about this type of coverage will help you get even more for your money.

VALUE TIP 1: USE PPO NETWORK PROVIDERS
Although these insurance plans cover your treatment received from any doctor or hospital in the U.S. and Canada, it may pay you to use a participating network provider. You can find participating providers nationwide at http://www.phcs.com. There are three advantages to using a PPO provider; 1) your bill will be discounted under the negotiated network agreement, 2) you do not need to pay the provider at the time service is provided (you may wait until after the claim is processed), and 3) the provider handles all of the claim submission paperwork on your behalf saving you time and possible frustration.

VALUETIP 2: REAPPLY
Even though the policy expires after 6 months, you may re-apply as often as you wish. Don’t be fooled by insurance company brochures that say you are no longer eligible for this coverage just because you had it in the past. If it is difficult to re-enroll online, then ask your enrollment adviser to manually handle your new enrollment.

VALUE TIP 3: DO NOT PAY MONTHLY
You will save up to 20% of the cost if you pay a single premium rather than opt for monthly billing. Even if you are short on cash, it pays to put the entire charge on your credit card and pay off your credit card over a few months.

VALUE TIP 4: PAY CASH FOR SOME OUT-OF-POCKET ITEMS
STM insurance plans do not cover expenses related to pre-existing medical conditions, so if you take an ongoing prescription medicine or receive ongoing weekly outpatient treatments, these will not be covered under the STM plan. But often the amount you save in insurance expense is more than the cash cost of your current treatment, so it makes sense to pay this out-of-pocket. This may also allow you to feel more comfortable electing a high deductible policy to save even more in premium cost.

VALUE TIP 5: BUY WHEN YOU TRAVEL
If you happen to live in one of the few states that prohibit STM, it is completely legal to purchase insurance when you are traveling to another state. It only takes about two minutes to enroll online and the coverage is valid in your home state for all treatments you may receive after returning home. You can even have you policy and ID cards delivered to your address in a restricted state as long as you list another state as the place of purchase. Also, if you are moving from a place with relatively low health insurance costs (the Midwest states, for example) to a place with high medical costs (California, for example) it is best to buy your coverage before you move. Once issue, the coverage is equally valid in all states and your premium rate will not increase on the policy after you move.




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