What is a “Major Medical” Based Individual Health Insurance Plan
One of the key components of individual medical insurance is known as major medical, which is considered by many to be the most important component of any health care plan. Some insurance plans do not cover catastrophic illnesses or emergency hospital stays. This is where major medical comes into play as it is the part of your coverage that provides for these major illnesses and extended hospital stays if they are needed.
Most individuals do not require frequent doctor visits so with that in consideration, a doctor’s visit is something that someone with overall good health would only require two or three times per year. These would just be the normal visits for annual check ups and maybe one or two minor illnesses, or sick visits within a year’s time and annual flu shots might also require a doctor visit as well.
With such infrequent visits to the doctor, the cost of adding frequent doctor visits might just amount to a greater unneeded cost annually than the actual cost of visiting the doctor on a per visit basis. If you believe that this might be the case then you might consider an individual medical insurance that only includes major medical coverage, which only covers catastrophic hospitalization or illness that will require long-term hospital stays. In some cases, opting for this type of plan can reduce costs as opposed to electing a full coverage plan.
This type of insurance will require the payment of co-insurance and a deductible. The deductible is a portion of the cost that you are required to pay, out of pocket, before your major medical begins to pay. Co-insurance is the portion of the total bill that you will be responsible for after your deductible is met.
For example: if your medical bill is $5000.00 and your deductible is $500.00 you will be responsible for $4500.00, if your co-insurance is 20% you would then be required to pay $900.00 or 20% of the $4500.00. This would leave $3600.00 that your major medical coverage would pay. Major medical is generally the lowest cost option in any individual medical insurance plan, however the total cost out of pocket varies greatly and is determined by the actual options elected and the amount of deductible, among other factors.
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