Catastrophic Health Insurance in California
Do you have health insurance to cover a major accident or serious illness? It costs about $8500 to spend a day in the hospital in California. Really.
A new study in California found that your bill could vary by tens of thousands of dollars depending on your case and the hospital you go to. There is no set amount that all hospitals charge for certain procedures. In fact, this study showed that charges for treating appendicitis at hospitals in California ranged from $1500 to more than $182,000. Crazy.
If you do not have insurance now and want to find an affordable plan, you should look into some form of catastrophic health insurance. Having catastrophic health insurance or a high deductible plan could pay for your hospital expenses and protect you from financial ruin.
California Catastrophic Health Insurance
Catastrophic health insurance is also known as a high deductible health plan (HDHP) or major medical insurance. These terms will be used interchangeably, but there are real differences between the three plans. All however, deal with this idea of a high deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you pay first before the insurance company begins to pay the claim. You are responsible for paying the deductible and the insurance company pays for the remaining medical costs. So with a catastrophic plan you choose a higher-than-normal deductible, usually between $500 and $2,000, depending on your insurer.
Typically higher deductibles carry lower premiums. Premiums are the amount charged by the insurance company to insure you. So, the higher the deductible, the lower your monthly or annual premiums are.
There are three main types of catastrophic health insurance in California. The three options below describe differences in coverage and price.
1. The hospital only plan covers your expenses while in the hospital. This tends to be the less expensive option.
2. High deductible-all inclusive plan covers most services except for preventive.
3. High deductible with office visits and prescription coverage is the last option and the most expensive.
Normally with a high deductible health plan, you’ll have to pay 100% out of pocket for most regular visits to the doctor for checkups, physicals and common sicknesses until your deductible has been met. You won’t have to pay out of pocket for major treatments and surgeries.
Who Should Consider Major Medical Insurance?
The catastrophic health plans or high deductible insurance would work for:
- people who can afford to pay out of pocket for minor things, but don’t want to pay for major surgeries, illnesses, or accidents.
- people who are relatively healthy
- individuals who need insurance for a short term basis; such as, people between jobs
- middle age individuals who see their premiums increase with age
- college students that are not covered under their parents insurance plans
This plan may not be good for those that get sick often or those who cannot afford to pay out of pocket for basic doctor visits. What you need to do is compare the annual premiums with the high deductible plan, to the possible out of pocket expenses you might have in a year. Insurance agents can help you out with this health insurance comparison.
Ask about catastrophic health insurance in California and get 5 free quotes online. You can go shopping for health insurance any time, night or day, and find high deductible individual and family health insurance quotes in a matter of minutes.