Many Americans
receive coverage for themselves and for their dependent family members through
employer-sponsored group coverage. However, others may need to find a family health insurance plan through the private
market, which is explained here.
Who
is family health insurance best for?
As the name
suggests, family health insurance is best for individuals who need coverage for
both themselves and their families.
What are some benefits of family
health insurance?
A comprehensive
family health insurance plan actually costs less than insuring each member of
your family separately. You could also look into buying a high deductible
health plan (HDHP) and opening a health savings account (HSA). The variety of
preventative care options provided by HDHPs (i.e. doctor’s visits, physical
exams, immunizations, well-baby visits), are especially useful for families.
These benefits can be taken advantage of without having to meet the first
deductible. Also, note that family health insurance plans usually have a higher
coverage cap or lower combined deductible than that of an individual insurance
plan.
What
are some risks involved with family health insurance?
Premiums for family
health insurance vary from state to state and by the age of the purchaser.
Older purchasers typically pay more than younger ones, and coverage may cost
more in some areas of the country than others. If a member of your family has a
preexisting condition, it could result in denial of coverage or a more
expensive rate for your whole family. In this case, you should consider buying
separate policies for members of your family.
How
do you buy family health insurance?
One of our licensed
agents can guide you through the whole process of getting health insurance—from
completing your application to receiving your family health insurance policy. To
begin, you just enter some basic information about your family on
getinsured.com to view instant side-by-side comparisons of available plans, at
no cost to you! When buying family health insurance, try to keep in mind that a
typical plan offers fairly high deductibles (over $7,500) so, supplementing
your family coverage with an Accident Medical Plan and a Critical Illness Plan
could be a great option. These plans have very low deductibles in the $100-200
range and coverage of up to $10,000—which should be enough to cover the family
deductible in case of an accident or a major illness.
What
impact does reform have on family health insurance now, and in 2018?
As
of September 2018, the following changes will be implemented:
• New insurance plans must cover specific preventative services, without cost
sharing.
• Insurance companies can no longer drop you if you fall ill, due to a mistake
you made on your insurance coverage application.
• New individual plans can’t deny or exclude coverage to children younger than
19 based on health issues. This includes babies born with health problems.
• If a new won’t pay for services you thought were going to be covered, you
have clear, step-by-step appeals process to challenge the decision.
• Young adults below age 26 can be insured under a parent’s insurance if the
policy allows for dependent coverage. The exception is if the parent has an
existing job-based plan, and the young adult children can get their own
job-based coverage.
Every state runs a
Medicaid program that provides health coverage for lower income families and
children, although the eligibility rules vary by state. Medicaid and the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover children in all states.
Moreover, your children could very well be eligible for coverage if your income
is up to $45,000 per year (for a family of four).
Beginning in 2018,
individual carriers cannot deny or exclude coverage for a child with a
preexisting condition, or disability.