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Catastrophic health plans
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A catastrophic health plan is a health plan that typically provide coverage only in the event of an emergency or worst-case scenarios. These plans typically have low monthly premiums, but high deductibles, so that the enrollee pays for most routine medical coverage and has higher out-of-pocket costs. Catastrophic health insurance plans are often the cheapest plans that count as minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.[1]
Coverage
Catastrophic health plans offer the lowest level of insurance coverage and are intended to protect the insured from worst-case scenarios. Routine medical expenses are not covered, although these plans sometimes cover a certain number of primary care visits at no cost. All other medical costs are typically paid for out-of-pocket by the insured persons until they reach their deductible, which may differ from year to year, after which the plan covers 100 percent of costs. According to Healthcare.gov, catastrophic plans offered on the health insurance exchanges cover less than 60 percent of the total cost of care, leaving over 40 percent to the insured. In 2017, the deductible for catastrophic plans offered on the exchanges was $7,150.[2][3]
Qualification under the ACA
Under the Affordable Care Act, individuals were required to maintain minimum essential health coverage to avoid paying a tax penalty. Catastrophic health plans counted as minimum essential coverage only for applicants who fulfilled specific criteria. To qualify for a plan, individuals were required to be under 30 years old or to receive a hardship exemption from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to Healthcare.gov, the following criteria qualify a person for a hardship exemption:[1]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Healthcare.gov, "Catastrophic Health Plan," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ Healthcare.gov, "The 'metal' categories: Bronze, Silver, Gold & Platinum," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ USA Managed Care Organizations, "Health Care Terminology Glossary," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
