Can I have two health insurance plans?
You sure can! A lot of people have more than one health insurance plan, and there are a variety of reasons for this.
Whenever you have two insurance plans, a process called coordination of benefits comes into play, and it determines which plan pays first. They do this to make sure that things are not being overpaid. The first company, considered the primary plan, pays up to it’s coverage limit, the second plan will then pay any remaining cost up to it’s coverage limit. This can seriously help lower your out of pocket cost. However, you will also have two premiums to pay, two deductibles, two max-out-of-pockets, etc.
What about supplemental health insurance?
Plans like accidental insurance or critical illness are indemnity plans that usually pay you directly whenever a benefit amount is triggered. Because these plans to not pay to cover a specific bill, coordination of benefits does not come into the picture.
Because of this, many people maintain an indemnity plan of sorts to help pay for the copayments and deductibles that are needed in conjunction with a major medical plan.
Is having two plans worth it?
Maybe. It really depends on the plan and what you want to get out it. I would almost always recommend having 1 major medical plan + supplemental insurance over having 2 major medical plans.
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