Sometimes having a health insurance plan is not enough and you need to look into supplemental health insurance. In Florida, there are several benefits that come with having this type of coverage. If your basic plan falls short and leaves you with out of pocket expenses, supplemental insurance may be for you. Use the benefits factors below to decide if supplemental health insurance in Florida is what you want.
Benefit #1 Lowers Your Medical Costs
Though many health insurance plans provide great coverage, some plans have gaps in coverage that can only be filled by paying out of pocket or by having supplemental health insurance. When you start to total the cost of what is not covered by your plan and multiply that by how many dependents you have, the cost can be quite a bit. Some insurance plans only cover bigger events and don’t cover basics such as doctor’s visits and prescriptions.
Finding a supplemental health insurance plan will lower your out of pocket medical costs. You can customize your supplemental plan to meet the needs that are not met by your primary plan. Of course you do not want overlaps in coverage that your pay for on each plan, so customizing will help you save money. Supplemental plans typically have a low premium rate and little if any co-pays so in the long run, so having this type of coverage is generally much cheaper than paying for all the extras out of pocket.
Benefit #2 Gives You More Options
Having supplemental health insurance gives you more options. Many of us do not have a say in our primary health insurance plans because often they are through an employer or a spouse’s employer. Plans are pre-set by a company and as an employee, those are the benefits received. These pre-set conditions often include a network of physicians, hospitals, and providers that must be seen within the plan.
If you have a doctor or hospital that you already have a relationship with, you trust, and you are comfortable with, you may not want to change doctors. Supplemental insurance can often give you the option of receiving coverage when you stay with your doctor. For children, this may be true as well. Often parents already have a pediatrician who they have a rapport with and with whom children feel comfortable. Changing pediatricians can be difficult for both children and parents. Supplemental insurance will give you the option to stay with your child’s doctor.
This is true of specialists as well. If you or a member of your family is facing a specific medical situation that requires being seen by a specialist, a supplemental plan can widen the array of specialists you have to choose from. Facing medical conditions or diseases can be stressful; being able to choose the specialist you want based on their credentials instead of their network can give you added peace of mind.
Benefit #3 Opens More Services
Traditional health insurance coverage is typically limited to traditional medical services but what if you want to go outside the realm of traditional? You can choose a supplemental health insurance plan that will allow you to seek the services you want and need. For example, if you want to try alternatives to medication, most insurance plans will not cover this. Supplemental plans can cover services such as acupuncture, herbal remedies, and seeing a nutritionist.
Another type of service that you can customize a supplemental plan to include is chiropractic care. For some people, seeing a chiropractor weekly or more than once a week is the only way to alleviate pain and avoid surgery. Whereas traditional health insurance coverage would cover the surgery, it often will not cover chiropractic care. Along with this is massage therapy. Traditional plans often count this as an extra service, but to some people it is a way to get relief without medication. Supplemental insurance can cover this type of therapy.
Benefit #4 Covers Other Types Of Health Related Needs
Many traditional plans only cover medical services. Supplemental plans can include other types of health related needs that can affect the overall well being of people. One of these options is dental coverage. A healthy mouth often means a healthier body. Having dental coverage for yourself and your children is very important. Just having a cleaning without insurance can cost $150-200. Because of this, many people without coverage just don’t go to the dentist leading to problems in the future.
The average cost of having a cavity filled is $500 and the average cost of a root canal is $1,500. Having supplemental dental coverage can help you avoid these costs by either having regular check-ups or by having the coverage available when you need one of these services. For children, regular dental check-ups do more than just keep teeth clean. They help determine if things like speech therapy or orthodontic care will be needed in the future.
Along these same lines is vision coverage. Vision coverage is often not a part of basic health insurance plans. Having regular eye exams can keep eyes healthy and determine any more issues that may be present before they become too serious. For children, having regular eye exams can ensure that if needed, vision is corrected to keep them on track at school.
Benefit #5 Offers Needed Coverage For Seniors
For those 65 and older who are on Medicare, you will see that there are gaps in Medicare that have to be paid out of pocket. For those in their retirement years this can put a hole in their hard earned retirement fund. For those on a fixed income, it is even more difficult to fill in the gaps. Supplemental Medicare Insurance can help fill in the areas that are not covered by straight Medicare.
One of the things that often falls between the gaps is prescription coverage. This problem has seen some seniors cutting pills in half just to make sure they have enough for the month. Some of this can be avoided by finding a supplemental Medicare plan that covers prescription drugs as well as other services that are missing in a traditional plan.
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Policy That Is Best For You!
After seeing all of these benefits, you may be wonder if supplemental health insurance in Florida is right for you. You can use the comparison tool on this page right now to compare rates and quotes from top companies. Seeing different options from different companies can help you make your decision. If you still have questions, you can contact one of our independent agents who can answer any questions you may have about supplemental health insurance and insurance in general. Take seconds to type in your zip code about and get FL health insurance rate quotes right away.