Catastrophic health insurance plans or High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), as it is commonly known, were made to lessen medical costs. It provides a lower monthly premium in return for a higher annual health insurance deductible. With the help of this, you pay for almost all medical care until you attain the annual deductible amount.

High deductible health plans

Under this plan, you will have to pay out-of-pocket for most medical bills until the annual deductible amount is reached. In case of catastrophic health plan, though you will have to pay co-insurance, it will cover most of the medical expenditure. If your catastrophic health plan is entitled to a Health Savings Account (HSA), you can employ the HSA funds for the payment of the deductible and out-of-pocket expenditure. Even if you don’t use an HSA, it would be a smart move to save some money in every month to pay for future medical costs.

Where to get Catastrophic Health Insurance?

While buying high deductible health insurance, you will have the choice of individual plan and group plan. There are definite pre-existing conditions in cases of diabetes and mental health disorders.

What do High Deductible Health Plans cover?

The type of coverage depends on which high deductible health insurance plan you go for. Always read and understand the full policy thoroughly and compare various different health insurance plans. Get to know the details from the insurance agent or the provider about the policy details. It would be useful for you if you can insert more coverage for medical conditions. The general rule is the more a plan covers, the higher will be the premium rate.

Be aware of the fact that the IRS presently stipulates that if your high deductible health plan offers prescription benefits before you reach the annual deductible, your HDHP is not eligible for use with an HSA.

Catastrophic Health Insurance considerations

Do you know why you have to usually pay lower premiums with a high deductible health plan? Because the health insurance company knows that if you needed medical care, you will pay a larger amount of your costs. If you want to save your money by choosing a catastrophic health plan, you will have to consider the advantages against the risks. For example, if your annual deductible is $4,000 and you need an emergency surgery which costs $5,000, you need to pay $4,000 and the residual part would be paid by your health insurance policy.