A health insurance policy that covers everything over and above your minimum medical essential coverage is called the Supplementary Health Insurance Policy. With this plan, you get additional medical coverage. You can also use this cover to pay for some of the costs which are not covered under your basic health policy, such as the co-pays, coinsurance, and the deductibles.

Different types of SHIP

Just like a traditional health insurance plan, a supplemental health insurance plan comes with various plans and coverage. It includes:

Accident insurance

In this type of insurance, you get yourself cash-benefits in one lump-sum amount whenever you meet with an accident. Via this policy, you’ll be able to bear your medical and living expenses during your healing period. What is covered in this?

• Physical therapy expense
• Emergency treatment expense
• Surgery expense
• Hospital confinement expense
  

Critical illnesses

This type of insurance cover is known as the CC insurance, where CC stands for critical care. Under this type of supplemental health insurance, you’ll get coverage of certain complex diseases, such as strokes, cancer, kidney failure, heart attack, or any organ transplant.  

There are a few CC insurance plans, which cover only one type of disease or illness only. So, if you are ever diagnosed with the stated illness, you’ll get cash benefits, which are paid off on the per-procedure basis or a stipulated amount is paid for the complete treatment. Options such as policy maximum and the maximum benefit per day are also present.  

Hospital insurance

It is the coverage that can be used during your stay in the hospital. Also, known as the Hospital Indemnity Plan, it is a great investment because under this, on average, you can get a single stay benefit of over $2000.   

Disability insurance

Your health insurance will provide you coverage on your hospital bills when you are either injured or sick. On the other hand, if your sickness aggravates, and you are injured or sick to even be working, then it is called a disability. That’s when you need disability insurance. Under this, there are some plans that cover your illness, while others cover both injuries and illness. 

Fixed indemnity 

When you are undergoing an injury or illness, the expenses can go unmanageable. However, when you have a fixed indemnity plan, you can easily manage your expenses via the cash benefits, which are paid to you directly. 

Life insurance
As part of the life insurance plan, a sum is paid out, post the death of the policy taker to the beneficiary in charge. In this, a monthly premium is required for the coverage. 

Long-term care plan (LTC)

As you age, it becomes all the more important for you to protect your finances and your independence. With an LTC, it becomes easier for you to keep your assets protected, while you still have the necessary options when your body needs LTC. 

Metal gap bridge plan

If you opt for this plan, it becomes easier for you to bridge the remaining gap in health insurance. There are options for a gold, silver, or a bronze plan. Using this type of plan, it gets easier for you to manage your coinsurance, deductibles, as well as copayments. It is a perfect plan for people who have less premium but high deductibles along with other expenses.  

Vision insurance

Under the terms of your regular health insurance plan, your prescription eyewear and preventive eye care is not included. However, if you opt for a vision insurance plan, you can get this, and additional benefits, like a laser eye treatment. Thus, in exchange for a nominal monthly premium, you can get exclusive services at a heavily discounted price.

Dental insurance

For maintaining good long-term health, you need to take care of your gums and teeth, and of course, your smile. There are a bunch of healthcare insurance plans which offer you dental coverage, but since dental care isn’t a key benefit of the Affordable Care Act, most plans skip it. For children, in particular, dental coverage is a mandatory benefit and is packed with all the Affordable Care Act approved plans.  

After learning the types of Supplemental health insurance, you might have questions regarding the plan and its functions. Read on to know the answers to some of the common questions related to supplemental health insurance.

How does SHIP work?

If you have taken SHIP, you’ll get the benefits covered under it. However, the requisite payment and manner of payment depend solely on your chosen supplemental health insurance plan. A lot of the plans that we listed out above are known to almost all of us. Depending upon your chosen SHIP, benefits and coverage would be provided to you. 

Who needs a SHIP?

Now, the big question that most people face is, “do I need a SHIP when I have already taken a health insurance plan?” Well, now the answer to this question depends on three basic factors:

• What do you wish to get insurance for? 
• What is the degree of coverage needed by you? 
• What are the probable risk factors that you are exposed to?  

Honestly, the SHIPs are not mandatory for all of you. So, it completely depends on your requirements. If you think that the cost that you bear towards your supplemental health insurance plan in the form of the premium is worth the benefits you are getting, go for it, else you can also look for better and more worthwhile options. Let’s understand this with two different examples:

• Those of you with kids might require insurance for their orthodontic care. In this case, you can avail of a supplemental health insurance plan, which brings you dental benefits. Now, as per this plan, it would be easier for you to avail of any correction procedure, like braces, with ease. In this case, the SHIP certainly seems like a beneficial alternative. 
• Let’s say you are diagnosed with a certain illness or a disease, which might require a lot of LTC. But given the massive treatment cost, you can either consider getting yourself an LTC plan or a critical illness plan. Both of these supplemental health insurance plans might prove to be beneficial investments for you. 

How to find yourself a perfect healthcare insurance policy?

Now, before investing in a SHIP, you need to know about the various coverages that are included in the health insurance that you already have. For those who are married, you can see a plan that jointly covers you and your partner.  

Please remember that you shouldn’t ever mistakenly get double coverage, or spend money on an insurance that you might not need. Further, do not pay more than what’s needed on an insurance policy. 

Almost every health insurance policy is different from each other. So, the benefits covered, and the amount covered under them will also vary. Thus, you should always ensure that you have a policy that brings you maximum benefit at a minimum price. 

The goal of the SHIP is to cover for the issues that your available health insurance might not cover. Certain plans, like LTC, or critical illness plan, can save you from exhausting all your savings, in case of an emergency.  

Things to consider when picking a SHIP

There are a couple of things that you need to take into consideration when you choose a SHIP. 

These include:

• Your savings
• Common risk factors that you might be exposed to 
• The value of insurance that is affordable by you

The amount of savings you have plays a detrimental role in deciding the SHIP you get for yourself. Get answers to some questions- If something happens to you, and you happened to be admitted in a hospital for about a couple of weeks, would you be in a position to pay for the expenses, which your insurance isn’t covering? Also, do you possess money that can be accessed via FSA or HSA? Lastly, whenever you purchase any plan, you should check and see if it is possible for you to afford the same or not and only then opt for it. 

Where can you get a SHIP?

You can get a SHIP via a private insurer. However, these may not generally be available via an ACA healthcare platform. 

• Find out from your employer if, in the health plan made available to you at work, there are some extended benefits, which might be a part of the SHIP benefit. For instance, a few workplaces give their employees a supplementary health insurance plan, which would either have vision plans, a dental plan, or any disability plan. In case it is not available, you need to check your domestic partner or spouse’s health insurance plan, and see if there are any benefits for you in it. 
• Today, a lot of employers are offering extended benefits to their employees. It is an important strategy for retention. So, there’s a chance that your workplace might have it too. It does not hurt to ask, right? So, go ahead and discuss it with your employer. 
• In case your employer is not providing you any such benefit, you can get in touch with a broker who offers health insurance services or a private insurance agent. Further, ask them about their best available supplemental health insurance plan. 
• If you need medicare, check out the official government website for Medicare and look for the best and the most suitable plan for yourself. 

When must you opt for a SHIP?

In addition to your requirement of good coverage against a mega medical expense, there are a bunch of other reasons, too, explaining why you should get a SHIP. 

Is the deductible high?

In any case, if the deductible of your regular healthcare plan is more than your in-hand savings, then you certainly should look for a good SHIP. Following the data by Bankrate, there’s forty percent citizens who can bear an emergency cost of $1000. Thus, in this case, having a SHIP would help you, especially if you are already low on savings and the high medical bills are something you just cannot afford. Following are some situations where SHIP can be of great benefit.

• You require cash for day-to-day expenses
  What if you are a single parent and you are bedridden by illness for about two months. Now, how would you manage your day care or the child care expenses? In this case, having a supplemental health insurance plan can be a helpful escape.
• Employer doesn’t pay for the medical leave
  In case of an accident or injury, you might not be able to resume work for some time. In this time, if your employer is not paying you for the sick leaves, your supplemental health insurance plan will be helpful. Havin a SHIP will help you from exhausting your savings or credit card limit, and buy you sufficient time to heal, and get back to your job without undergoing a major financial blow.
• Handling the Medicare expenses by a senior citizen
  Those of you who are participants of the Medicare plan already know that the health insurance plans of the government wouldn’t give you thorough coverage. So, in this case, having a supplemental health insurance plan could be a great help.

What would SHIP cost to you?

The amount that you pay for your SHIP depends on your circumstances and the type of healthcare insurance you already have. Moreover, not every SHIP would pay for similar things. For instance, a few will pay for your coinsurance, deductibles, or the off the pocket expenses, while the others will give you a lump sum amount as the claim of your insurance. First know about your needs, then consult with an insurance agent who offers SHIP, understand the different plans, and then pick the one that covers your needs and is in your budget. The cost will vary depending on what all you need in the supplemental health insurance plan.