Health Insurance for Unemployed That Doesn't Take Work
A time of unemployment is a difficult time for anyone. You'll likely worry about your financial survival in all aspects of life during this time. You won't only worry about finances, however. You'll worry about healthcare, too. You'll want to know how you can obtain affordable healthcare while you are unemployed.
Fortunately, there is a way for you to obtain excellent healthcare when you're not working. As a matter of fact, there are many ways for you to get the coverage you need while you're not working.
Protect Yourself And Your Finances. Visit the Insurry Store NOW.
These are seven ways to get healthcare if you're unemployed and some additional information about obtaining healthcare when you need it.
1. Apply For Continuation Coverage
COBRA continuation coverage is an option for you if you've recently become unemployed. COBRA is an acronym for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The law states that your employer must extend temporary benefits to you if you leave the company. This coverage will only apply to you if you already had employer-sponsored healthcare coverage before leaving your job.
COBRA continuation allows you to pick up where you left off in terms of payments. You can continue your monthly payments for health insurance on your own, and you'll receive the same coverage you had while you were working. These temporary benefits may be available to you for up to 18 months.
You must be aware of the high costs, however. One of the downsides of COBRA continuation is that it can be costly. You'll have to cover the amount of the premium that you were paying through payroll deductions plus the percentage the employer contributed to your healthcare plan. In other words, you'll have to cover 100 percent of the premium to continue your benefits. Your premium could be in the neighborhood of $500 or more with COBRA continuation.
2. Apply For Medicaid
Your temporary unemployment may qualify you for coverage through Medicaid. Your eligibility will depend on factors such as your household size, income level, pregnancy status, disability status, and the number of minor children you care for.
Each state has different income guidelines for Medicaid. The income threshold may be low if you live in a state that does not offer an expansion. However, you may just qualify since you are unemployed and have a very low income at this time. You won't lose anything if you take the time to complete an application to find out.
3. Apply For Marketplace Coverage
Another way that you can obtain health insurance for unemployed is by visiting the marketplace and getting it through the Affordable Care Act. You would need to visit the government's marketplace and sign up for an account. You can apply for health insurance for unemployed people during the enrollment period, which starts in October and usually ends in mid-December. You may be eligible for a special enrollment even if you miss the regular enrollment period. Unemployment is considered a qualifying life change. All you have to do is let them know in the application that you recently lost your job and benefits, and you will be eligible to apply.
The application will ask you a series of questions about your income, available insurance options, household, and the like. It will check the system to see if you're eligible for Medicaid first. Next, it will determine your eligibility for non-Medicaid healthcare plans. You can sign up for medical coverage that day if the application determines that you're eligible for coverage. The best part is that you may be eligible for the premium tax credit, as well. The government may pay part of the cost for your healthcare insurance if you qualify. You could end up only having to pay a few dollars a month for your coverage.
4. Ask a Family Member to Cover You
You can seek help from family members or friends if you have lost your health insurance because of unemployment. For example, your spouse can add you to his or her policy, and it will count as health insurance for unemployed individuals. Perhaps, someone from your family can extend his or her generosity toward you and have you added onto the medical policy that he or she owns. Your family member might be able to do that if he or she qualifies for a life change. You could have the coverage you need in no time if you request the help of a loved one.
5. Apply Through a Private Insurance Company
You can also apply for health insurance for unemployed people by visiting the website of a private insurance company. There, you can look at the various policies they offer and then apply for coverage that suits you. Please note that you may only be eligible to sign up for such policies during a period of enrollment. However, your recent change in employment might entitle you to use a special enrollment period. Many plans are available that have nothing at all to do with the marketplace. You just might be able to find something nice and affordable if you take the time to look in the right places.
You can also contact a private agent or broker who can help you to find the right health insurance for unemployed people. Brokers are excellent sources because they are not partial to one healthcare insurance company. Their objective is to find you healthcare coverage that you feel is suitable so that you will sign up for a policy through them. Agents have access to information from a variety of providers, and they are willing to put in the work of looking for amazing benefits for you.
6. Buy a Transitional Policy
You can try going the route of a transitional policy if your funds are short, and your current insurance ends soon. A transitional policy is a short-term medical policy that is only supposed to last for a brief amount of time. You can purchase one of these at an affordable monthly cost and use its benefits until you can find reliable healthcare. Transitional plans are not meant to replace an essential healthcare plan, but they can get you through a period of struggle so that you will have some healthcare coverage, at least.
7. Apply for SSDI
You can get approved for Medicaid coverage if you qualify for Social Security Disability. SSD is for people with disabilities that will most likely last them one year or longer. You might be eligible for this coverage if your doctor has determined that your injury or illness will be more than a year, and it hinders your activity level.
To qualify for SSDI, you must be unable to perform gainful employment. You also have to have a certain number of work credits from your years of employment, as well. Consider applying for it if your unemployment is due to a disability that may last a very long time.
Tips for Choosing the Right Insurance Provider
There will be many provider options for your health insurance for unemployed persons. Therefore, you'll need to ensure that you choose a reliable provider for your benefits. You should check the website of each provider you consider and read the information they provide about their history and mission.
You should also check to see what their clients say about them online. Reviews can reveal a wealth of positive or negative information that can help you to make your final decision about providers. You should read many reviews and only sign up with a provider that has more than three stars. Look for important accolades and affiliations, as well. You'll be glad that you invested your time into finding the right provider.
Tips for Choosing the Right Healthcare Plan
It's crucial that you obtain a healthcare plan that's right for you. Therefore, you should always take the time to compare health plans to ensure that you have everything you need. Make sure that you read the benefits thoroughly before you sign up. You'll need to know which services you need and which services the insurance covers. For example, you need to make sure that the coverage you select offers a benefit for chiropractic care if you know you'll need such care.
There are three aspects that you should pay close attention to when you're choosing insurance. You must examine the deductible, the premium, and the copays or coinsurance. The premium is the amount of money you have to pay each month to keep the insurance. It can range from $0 to several hundred dollars. The amount you have to pay for a premium will depend on factors such as your income, the benefits you choose, and your deductible.
The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before the insurance company shares the treatment costs with you. Deductibles can be as low as $0 and as high as many thousands of dollars. You'll need to evaluate the amount of care you expect to need and think about whether the deductible is fair to you. The deductible resets every year. Therefore, you'll have to meet it before the insurance company assists you every year.
Copays and coinsurances are additional monies that you will have to contribute when you see a doctor or specialist for care. You will see your plan's options when you read the list of benefits. A copay is a flat amount, and a coinsurance is usually a percentage of the service's entire cost.
Ensure that the healthcare policy you choose meets all of your medical and financial needs and provides you with all the services you may also need. Take the time to truly review your health insurance options before you select something for yourself.
Other Ways to Get Healthcare
The above-mentioned processes should land you with an amazing healthcare plan to ensure that you get all the care you need. However, you can still get care if, for some reason, all of the methods we mentioned fail. These are ways you can receive healthcare even if you can't obtain a healthcare insurance plan. Try one or all of these alternative methods if you don't have any success. You'll end up getting the care you need one way or the other.
1. Apply for Sliding-Scale Care
Sliding-scale care is an option if you can't seem to find health insurance for unemployed persons. Certain facilities offer income-based healthcare to individuals. You will have to conduct research to find facilities that participate in sliding-scale care, and then you will have to apply for such care. You will most likely have to complete an application and show the administrators proof of your income. They will then let you know whether you qualify. They will base your payments for care on your income, and you'll be responsible for only a certain percentage.
2. Apply for a Discount Health Plan
Another way you can go is toward purchasing a discount health plan. A discount health plan is not health insurance for unemployed people. It's a plan that offers you a discount for the services you receive from participating facilities. You may only have to pay 50 percent for a certain procedure. You might also gain access to set copays. You will pay a monthly or annual fee for membership, and then you will have the discounts that you desire as long as you keep paying your monthly or annual membership fee. You can generally cancel these memberships at any time.
3. Request Charity Care
Charity care is available if you visit a hospital or facility that renders services to people who have no insurance. You can request that the facility provide you with an application for charity care. This is most likely to occur if you can't pay for the care that a hospital gives you. The application for charity care is usually very long, and you need to provide a lot of information. The organization that will pay for your charity care will review the information and decide if you qualify. You'll find out in roughly one to two months, and you will not have to pay for the care you receive if the organization approves your application.
4. Join a Health Cost Sharing Membership
Health cost sharing memberships are a fairly new concept. Religious organizations usually offer these memberships to people who need medical care. The way it works is that you first apply for membership. You pay a monthly fee for membership, and the membership allows you access to a network of people who will share the cost of your medical care with you. You will benefit greatly because you will only be responsible for a portion of your medical bill because of the other members sharing the costs. Your membership will be valid as long as you continue to pay your monthly fee.
5. Request In-House Financing
In-house financing is another alternative to health insurance for unemployed people. In-house financing is an option that only the caregiver can offer you. For example, your primary physician's office would offer you the chance to give them some money as a down payment and then pay them the rest in installments. You would continue to pay those installments until your bill is completely taken care of. You might be eligible for the same in-house financing next time if you build up trust between yourself and your medical provider's office.
Contact Us for Additional Information
We hope you have much more insight into keeping yourself covered with health insurance during your time of unemployment. You can now go through some of the steps we mentioned above to find suitable health insurance coverage. We are available to assist you if you still have trouble finding coverage after going through the steps we mentioned. Our company serves as an advocate to all debtors. We assist with a broad range of personal finance topics. Finding healthcare is only one piece of the huge area of helpful information that we cover.
You can contact us if you need help finding loans for any purpose. We are not a lender, and we do not issue funds to people. However, we can proudly say that we're associated with a huge network of lenders who can help you with various funds. If you are interested in obtaining a loan, we suggest filling in the form below, and we will help you connect with a suitable lender.
We're here for you if you need to obtain information to educate yourself further about the world of finance. We have a database full of blogs, articles, and informational pieces covering topics such as taxes, debt management, credit score improvement, saving, budgeting, and so much more. We're a one-stop-shop that takes pride in what we do to help debtors thrive. Don't hesitate to reach out to us and speak to one of our agents. You can contact us by calling us on the phone, or you can reach out to us by completing a short form. Our compassionate and knowledgeable agent will ask you what you need. Be forthcoming, and he or she will lead you to the right resource or company that can provide you with what you seek.