Most of us are well aware of the importance of maintaining health insurance coverage. However, in the event of a non-catastrophic illness or injury, your standard health insurance plan may not provide benefits at all, and even for serious medical situations it could fail to adequately meet your expenses. For many families and individuals, supplemental health insurance is a vitally important way to fill in these gaps in coverage.
What Is Supplemental Health Insurance?
Supplemental health insurance policies are add-ons that can increase your level of protection when paired with a general insurance plan. Unlike major medical insurance that typically covers ill-defined "necessary" medical expenses up to the policy limit, supplemental plans usually provide for a specific dollar amount to be paid should you incur covered medical expenses.
Furthermore, supplemental health insurance benefits in most plans are paid in addition to other coverage (some insurance policies reduce payments to the extent they would exceed the total cost of a medical bill when combined with contributions from separate policies). This extra cash is given directly to the insured, and can be used to offset a variety of expenses not accounted for by regular health insurance, such as deductibles, copays, wages lost due to health problems, and even day-to-day living expenses like grocery or utility bills.
Selecting Coverage
Supplemental health insurance policies are generally relatively inexpensive, and, since they offer set payouts, are fairly stable in terms of pricing over time. They provide flexibility and financial peace of mind in meeting unanticipated costs associated with an illness or injury.
However, it is important to remember that supplemental health insurance is not a substitute for a major medical policy. Standard health insurance is especially important for the most serious and expensive medical claims that supplemental plans may not fully cover. A complete and comprehensive health insurance portfolio will include a standard plan to protect against catastrophic medical conditions, as well as adequate supplemental coverage to meet more routine expenses.