Arizona Short-Term Health Insurance Definitions

Short-Term Health Insurance in Arizona Prices

A 35-year-old woman living in Arizona will pay between $70-$320 a month for short-term healthcare coverage. The higher the deductible and Maximum Out of Pocket, the lower the premium, usually. If you only need coverage for less than six months a higher deductible plan may be a good fit to keep premiums low.

It is important to understand Arizona short-term health insurance terminology so that you may plan for future out-of-pocket expenses. Hands-down, the most important point to understand is that the deductible you choose does not count toward the Maximum Out of Pocket on most policies. This is not the case when it comes to individual ACA policies, the deductible does count toward the maximum.

Premium

The monthly cost of having health insurance coverage is the premium. The premium does not count toward the Maximum Out of Pocket or the deductible. You must pay the premium each month to remain insured, as insurance companies are sticklers when it comes to this.

Deductible

A deductible is what you pay before the insurance company pays any medical claims. Many short-term health insurance plans include several low co-pay office visits per policy term, and the deductible does not apply (you don’t need to meet the deductible first.)

Coinsurance

Once the deductible is met, the insurance company begins paying the majority of the costs. Coinsurance will be a percentage ranging from 50%-100%.

Copayment

Many Arizona short-term health insurance plans include office visit and prescription copayment benefits. Copayments are always a dollar amount and can range from $25-$125… $50 for doctor visits is most common. Most plans limit the number of office visits per policy term, after which the deductible and coinsurance apply.

Out-of-Pocket Maximum

All short-term medical plans have an out-of-pocket maximum. Some short-term plans have a coinsurance out-of-pocket maximum, and others a general maximum. Coinsurance out-of-pocket maximums mean you have to pay your deductible first. After meeting the deductible, you share payment responsibilities with the insurer up to the maximum out-of-pocket amount. General out-of-pocket maximums require you to meet your deductible and then stop paying once you’ve hit the maximum. If you have a $10,000 deductible and a $10,000 coinsurance maximum out-of-pocket as an example, you are responsible for paying up to $20,000. If you have a general out-of-pocket maximum, you only pay your $10,000 deductible, the insurer paying the rest up to the policy total coverage maximum ($100,000-$2,000,000) Again, most Arizona short term health insurance policies do not include the deductible in the Maximum Out-Of-Pocket figure.

Total Coverage Maximum

This is the total amount of health expenses the insurer will guarantee to pay during the policy period. Though there are policies that offer $100,000, $250,000, and $500,000 in maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that the minimum amount of coverage one should buy is $1,000,000 if the plan is to lock in coverage for more than a few months.