Health Insurance Discount Plans: Will They Benefit You?

Health Insurance Discount Plans: Will They Benefit You?

There are two basic ways that someone who needs short-term health insurance coverage can protect themselves: through a health insurance discount plan or through a short-term managed care plan. In this article, we will discuss the first option -- a health insurance discount plan. Learn what a health insurance discount plan is, what it will and will not cover, special stipulations attached to these policies, and who will usually benefit from such a policy.

What is a Health Insurance Discount Plan?
A health insurance discount plan is nothing like a traditional insurance plan. It is basically like a discount membership plan. The companies that you buy a membership from have teamed up with certain medical providers who are willing to give you a discount of their services.

The good news is that you pay an annual membership fee of around $100 (individual) to $150 (family) and that is all you have to pay until your membership expires. There are no monthly premiums as there would be with a traditional health insurance plan. Likewise, there are also no deductibles or co-pays.

The flip side is that, aside from your discount, you are responsible for 100% of the costs of your services. There will not be any actual insurance plan to cover a portion of the bill.

What Will a Health Insurance Discount Plan Cover?
What your health insurance discount plan will and will not give you a discount on will depend on which plan you purchase and what medical provider you see. Some plans include dental procedures, eye exams and glasses/contacts, and chiropractic visits, while others do not. It is important to examine each plan carefully, to determine which is right for you. A health insurance discount plan is NOT suitable for emergency situations.

Who Will Usually Benefit From a Health Insurance Discount Plan?
If you have frequent and recurring medical expenses, then a health insurance discount plan may not be right for you. You would most likely benefit more from a plan that will cover a portion of those medical bills, as the discount you receive from a health insurance discount plan may not be sufficient enough to allow you to pay for your entire bill.

A health insurance discount plan is a good way to get a discount on low-cost routine procedures, such as a dental cleaning. It may also benefit otherwise healthy people to mix a short-term managed care plan and a health insurance discount plan. They can get an affordable monthly premium on their short-term managed care plan, which will be there in case of an emergency, and they can purchase a health insurance discount plan for $100 a year, which they can use to stay current on their preventive and routine visits (which a short-term managed care plan won’t cover). Combining these may be a less expensive option for healthy and young single people, rather than purchasing a traditional health insurance plan.

A health insurance discount plan can be a good way to get routine and preventative care, without paying full price. If you cannot afford the monthly premiums attached to a traditional health insurance plan and you don’t expect to need a lot of medical care, then a health insurance discount plan may be right for you.