This additional coverage is gaining popularity among people with high deductible health plans.
Before the Affordable Care Act, gap insurance plans had been quite commonplace. However, after the health insurance exchanges opened for business, it looked as though those additional plans were fading away.
At the moment, it looks as though those gap plans are starting to make quite the comeback.
As the premiums for insurance plans continue to rise, more people are looking to save money by choosing cheaper coverage. They are opting for high deductible health insurance in order to make their monthly premiums affordable. That said, those high deductibles can mean that the coverage helps only with more costly procedures and treatments. Therefore, many consumers are opting to taken on an extra gap insurance to help to keep their out of pocket costs under control.
Gap insurance has traditionally been known as a limited benefit coverage but consumers see its advantage.
“Mini-med” health insurance policies have become illegal under the Affordable Care Act requirements. Interest in gap plans have made their way back into the spotlight as a potential method of improving the affordability of health care.
This year, over 90 percent of people who have purchased their health plans through the insurance exchanges have an average deductible of at least $3,000. Next year, many of the most popular plans being sold on the exchanges will be seeing an increase in their rates. With rising out of pocket costs, consumers are seeking additional ways to make their insurance policies worthwhile.
That said, this is also true for people who don’t qualify for a subsidy from the government in order to cover part of their premiums. Those individuals must pay the full cost of their health insurance. Approximately 8 out of 10 people who could use the health insurance exchanges qualify for a subsidy there. The remainder must pay for everything themselves.
For those customers and for some businesses gap insurance plans may make good financial sense. The industry is starting to expect that the interest in these policies will only continue to grow in order to be able to keep health care access affordable.