Supplemental Health Insurance – Do You Need It?

Posted: 10 Feb 2011 04:00 AM PST

Are there areas not covered by your regular health insurance policy? Do you have co-pays or a large deductible? These are things that often fall through the cracks when you decide what kind of insurance you need.

What can you do about it? One answer might be a health insurance add-on, commonly called supplemental health insurance.

Anyone Could Need Help

Do you really need it? What does supplemental health insurance cover? Who needs supplemental health insurance? These are questions that you should ask yourself before taking out a policy. Going through all the options available and comparing them to what you can reasonably spend is a tiresome job. You may get bored while doing it, or simply decide bad things aren’t going to happen to you if you’re very careful. Nevertheless, you should press on with your research and think about your individual situation and the various events that might put you in a financial pickle.

If you’re self employed and can’t work for a period of time, how do you put food on the table and pay the mortgage? You can’t rely on company coverage because you’re your own boss. If you work for a large corporation with good benefits you’re probably pretty well covered, but if you have a big family and your wife is a stay-at-home mom, you could still find yourself unable to make ends meet. Under those circumstances a supplemental health insurance policy would come in handy.

Senior Considerations

If you have a large surplus of money, you probably don’t need supplemental health insurance. If trouble pops up, you have the means to weather the financial storm. But for those who live from paycheck to paycheck, or social security check to social security check, the need could be much greater. Senior citizens usually live on a fixed income. Their financial state could be severely taxed by a sudden illness or injury. Long term care is also an issue for seniors. For them, supplemental health insurance would be a good idea.

Lost Income

One of the benefits of a supplemental health insurance policy is payment for lost income. If you’re unable to work for extended periods of time you’ll undoubtedly become strapped for cash. Unless you’re wealthy, not bringing in a regular paycheck will eventually catch up to you. Having a policy in place that will help meet your day-to-day expenses may be just what you need.

Whether or not you actually need supplemental health insurance is something everyone will ultimately have to decide for themselves. Not everyone needs it. It would be nice to have absolutely everything covered in case of emergency, but sometimes it’s just not feasible. Extra insurance means extra payments. Those with adequate financial means don’t need to be as concerned as someone who scrimps and saves just to get by.

Less Expensive

Supplemental health insurance is usually less expensive than a full coverage plan, because it doesn’t cover as much. Less pay for less coverage is a trade off, but then supplemental health insurance is a fill-in-the-gaps type policy. Another consideration in looking at a supplemental health insurance policy is that they are designed to provide limited coverage for those with limited financial means and not as a substitute for full coverage insurance.

Pre-Existing Conditions

A tantalizing aspect of supplemental health insurance is that you may be able to find a policy that will cover you for pre-existing medical conditions. Most regular insurance policies won’t do that. The best policy for you is the one that provides you with what you need when you need it. Having a pre-existing condition means a policy may be harder to find, but with supplemental health insurance you will be at least partially covered, and some coverage is better than none at all.

What about you? Do you have supplemental health insurance? Do you plan on purchasing it in the near future?

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for the Health Insurance Blog.

Dollar Matters: Fun with Investing

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 09:00 AM PST

There are a number of ways you can invest. You can invest in financial instruments, you can invest in yourself, you can invest in things that will help you beat inflation. If you are looking for ways to invest, here are a few posts from around the PF interwebs that can help you out:

A Primer on Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Terminology

If you are interested in ETFs, Clark at Million Dollar Journey offers some insight into the terminology you are likely to run into.

Investing Life Insurance Proceeds

Mike at Oblivious Investor offers some ideas on what you can do with life insurance proceeds. Invest them!

Buying a Vacation/Retirement Home

Interested in your future? Lazy Man at Lazy Man and Money has some thoughtful insights on purchasing a home for vacation or retirement. A way to invest in a good time.

Egypt: Financial Lessons and Tipping Points

Learn about investing and money from what’s going on in the world. 2 Cents at Balance Junkie has some great thoughts on the flow of wealth.

In Business It’s All About Focus

Investor Junkie looks at business. Helpful information on making your own business work more effectively.

Minimizing Your Personal Inflation Rate

Invest in trying to minimize your personal inflation rate. My Money Blog shows you how you can take your own personal finances, and figure out how to reduce inflation in your own life.

The War on Debt: The Battle Begins at Home

Invest in yourself by getting out of debt. Jason at Frugal Dad points out how you can change different aspects of your life to win the war on debt.

Life Insurance Blog