Things to Look for in a Plan

If you decide to go forward with a catastrophic insurance plan, then you want to make sure it includes certain components

in coverage. You won’t know for sure which plan does until to read the fine details. And coverage may vary from state to

state, so you want to get the details specific to your region.

Initially you want to be sure you understand how much the premium will be. Payment schedules can vary from monthly to

quarterly or to one lump sum annually. Make sure to understand the deductible amounts required from you as well. This

may vary per incident/visit and per year as an annual minimum deductible before coverage is initiated.

Critical services you want included in a potential plan include:

 Life-saving and function-preserving surgery

 Intensive care services

 Immediate rehabilitative needs, including equipment, treatment and pharmaceuticals

 Emergency room and related services access

 Out-of-network coverage in case you have to go to a hospital not normally covered by your plan

 That it meets the criteria for the IRS if you have an HSA account

 Hospital stay expenses including room costs and incidentals

 Physician expenses (not always covered by the hospital)

 Pregnancy services for birth and newborn infant care

Again, it’s not likely that a catastrophic insurance plan is going to cover ongoing prescriptions or

preventative treatments. They are designed to maximize profit for insurance companies while

making cost risk minimal.

Conclusion

Catastrophic insurance may seem like an easy choice for those thinking immediately of costs,

and with today’s economy and the rising cost of healthcare it’s easy to get focused only on the

money side of things. However, committing to such a plan without studying the details can

backfire at the worst possible times, especially when needing critical medical care and then

being surprised at a denial of coverage. The best approach when using these plans is to

compare coverages offered by different companies and then finding the plan that best serves

your need in your region and state. It also requires being honest about your health situation and

understanding that for the most part you will be self-medicating most of your health needs rather

than relying on a nurse or doctor for help. Only the most critical medical needs are usually

covered under these plans. If this is your true need, then a catastrophic insurance plan could be

the right health coverage for you at this time in your life.

What to look for in a Catastrophic Insurance Plan.