Most small business health insurance plans have a 90-day waiting period for new hires to become eligible to be covered by the plan (this varies, of course, from 30-180 days, but 90 is typical). Many people don’t realize that there are very inexpensive health insurance coverage options available to new employees who are in the waiting period. Short-term health insurance policies were designed for this very purpose, to help individuals and families find very affordable coverage to plug in the gap so they can be protected against major medical health claims. Some pertinent details:
* These policies do count as “creditable coverage” so switching to this kind of plan will not inhibit one’s ability to have pre-existing conditions covered once they switch to your group plan.
* Because of the short-term nature of these policies, there is very little underwriting (usually 5-6 yes/no questions) and coverage can be in place tomorrow.
* These plans don’t have a lot of bells and whistles (like doctor visit copays), but they do provide access to “in network” discounts with a nationwide network and catastrophic protection (this is the main point, right?). Our preferred plan does include a nice $50 copay at an urgent care center (think Doctors Care or something like that).
* These plans are VERY inexpensive (again, because of the short time frame and their “no frills” nature). Your new employee could probably save a LOT of money by opting for this kind of plan over COBRA coverage from their previous employer.
The application should take less than 5 minutes and coverage can be in place tomorrow. You (or your new employee) can get a quote and apply for short-term health insurance here. Of course you (and the employee) are more than welcome to contact us with additional questions.
