Catastrophic Health Insurance - How to Get the Best Rate

Looking for catastrophic health insurance? Want to know how to get the best rate with a reputable company? Here's how ...

Catastrophic Health Insurance

Catastrophic health insurance, also known as major medical insurance, is a type of health insurance that pays for major medical and hospital expenses but does not pay for visits to your doctor, prescription drugs, or maternity care. Most plans cover hospital stays, surgeries, intensive care, Xrays, and other hospital fees.

Catastrophic health insurance is the cheapest of all health insurance. Deductibles - the amount you pay for a claim before your insurance company will pay - start at $500 and go up to $5,000 or more. Most plans have a lifetime maximum benefit, known as a cap, of $1 million to $3 million. Once you reach your cap you can no longer receive benefits and your policy is canceled.

If you have a particular pre-existing condition such as AIDS, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or emphysema, you may not be able to get a catastrophic health insurance plan.

Catastrophic health insurance may be a good health insurance plan for you if you're relatively healthy, take few or no prescription drugs, and want to save money on your health insurance. This plan may also be a good choice if you're retired and not yet eligible for Medicare benefits.

Questions to Consider

Before you purchase a catastrophic health insurance plan you need to ask yourself:

1. How much does the plan cost?

2. What does it cover and what is the lifetime maximum benefit?

3. Can I afford to pay for doctor visits and prescriptions drugs?

4. How much is the deductible and can I afford it?

Getting Cheap Catastrophic Health Insurance

In order to get the best price on catastrophic health insurance you need to compare rates. The easiest way to do that is to go online and visit an insurance comparison website.

Once there you'll be asked to fill out a simple questionnaire with your health history and the type of insurance you want. After you fill out the questionnaire you'll get health insurance quotes from a number of A-rated insurance companies.

The best comparison websites have an insurance professional on call so you can get answers to your health insurance questions. They also have an "Articles" or "FAQs" section with information about health insurance.