People who have health insurance from their job can also buy coverage from a private health plan for themselves or their family. The most common of these is a “bridge” plan offered by one of the national insurers, such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield or Anthem. Some employers may also offer their employees the ability to buy into COBRA coverage, which is just like having employer-sponsored coverage if you had left your job through no fault of your own.
In this guide, we find out Can You Have Health Insurance With Two Different Companies, pros and cons of having two health insurance, if both spouses have health insurance which is primary, and can you have 3 health insurance plans.
Can You Have Health Insurance With Two Different Companies
Can you have health insurance from two different companies? The short answer is yes, but it may not be the best idea.
Some people have more than one insurance policy.
You can have more than one insurance policy.
Health insurance is a bit different from other types of coverage, because some people have more than one policy. For example, you may have a family plan through your employer and another policy on your own for medical or dental care. Or you could have separate policies for medical, dental, and vision coverage. This can be helpful if you want to protect yourself against different kinds of risk (or pay out-of-pocket costs in advance rather than waiting until they happen).
You can get insurance policies from different companies.
You can get insurance policies from different companies. In fact, you may have more than one policy now! It’s a good idea to shop around for the best deal. You might find that your employer offers great coverage at a low price through their group plan. Or maybe you want to switch to an individual plan and save money on premiums by getting your own health insurance instead of staying in your current employer’s group plan.
Whatever option you choose, remember that it’s always a good idea to compare prices before committing yourself to any one insurance company or type of policy—especially if you’re getting coverage through an employer where there might be fewer options available than if you were shopping on your own or buying an individual policy directly from an insurance company like Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS).
You can have more than one health plan.
You can have more than one health plan.
You can have a family plan and an individual plan at the same time, as well as group plans and individual plans. You can even have both employer-sponsored and individual plans. The key is that you not let yourself be confused by the jargon or technicalities involved in all of this—if something sounds like it might be a thing you want, it probably is!
Some people have separate policies for medical, dental, and vision coverage.
Some people have separate policies for medical, dental, and vision coverage. They may also have separate insurance for life insurance, disability income insurance and long-term care insurance.
There are several reasons why someone might want to do this:
- It’s a good idea to have separate policies if you don’t want to pay for something you don’t need.
- You can get health insurance from one company and supplemental health insurance from another company (or companies). For example, some people only need basic dental care—and they can get it cheaply enough on their own by paying out of pocket at the dentist’s office as needed instead of getting it through an expensive group policy offered by their employer.
You can also have both individual and group insurance plans.
You can also have both individual and group insurance plans. This means that you could have one policy from a group plan, and another policy from an individual plan. Or you can choose to stick with only one type of insurance coverage.
You may also have to consider how your health plan will work with your spouse’s insurance coverage when deciding which plans to enroll in.
It makes sense to maintain a family health plan if everyone is covered by it.
It makes sense to maintain a family health plan if everyone is covered by it.
Family health plans are cheaper than individual policies, especially for parents who have young children. And for people with low incomes, a family plan may be the only option because of federal subsidies that make it affordable.
In addition, having a single policy means that there’s no need to worry about coordinating care among family members who may have different doctors and treatments (which could be challenging if they’re scattered across town).
If you lose your job, keep your employer-sponsored coverage.
If you lose your job, keep your employer-sponsored coverage. If you lose your job, you may want to keep your employer-sponsored coverage for as long as possible. This is a good idea because it will help protect against financial hardship and ensure continuity of care for any pre-existing conditions not related to the reason why you lost your job (such as diabetes). Keep in mind that some companies have policies that allow only certain members of their family to be covered by their employee health plan.
Keep your own private insurance policy if it’s better or cheaper than one offered by your employer.
You can keep your own private insurance policy, as long as it is still in force and you are not currently covered by another employer’s plan. You may also be able to change plans if you’re not happy with the one offered by your employer.
For example, let’s say that you have a family plan through Blue Cross/Blue Shield that costs $500 per month for four people (that includes dental). When you get an offer from a company like Yahoo or Square that includes health insurance at no cost to employees, it might seem like a good idea to switch over to their coverage. But if they don’t cover maternity care (which is usually not included in basic health-insurance plans), then maybe it makes more sense for you and your partner to pay $500 per month out of pocket so that baby can be born healthy and ready-to-go when he arrives on Earth several months from now.
If you lose an individual health plan due to a job change, you’ll probably be able to replace it with another individual policy during the open enrollment period or following a qualifying event.
If you lose an individual health plan due to a job change, you’ll probably be able to replace it with another individual policy during the open enrollment period or following a qualifying event. You may also be eligible for COBRA coverage if your employer offers it and pays the premiums.
If none of these options work for you and your income qualifies, you might qualify for Medicaid (if available in your state). If not, here’s some advice:
- Keep in mind that even though health plans offered through an employer are generally more affordable than individual plans, they’re not guaranteed to provide the same coverage as one of these other options would. In fact, many employers offer “cadillac” plans that don’t cover all essential benefits required under federal law—or even all treatments covered by typical HMOs and PPOs!
Everyone should have health insurance coverage, so if you can get two policies, go for it!
If you’re getting insurance through the marketplace, you can still get a separate policy from an employer or the private market. In fact, doing so may allow you to qualify for subsidies that will lower your premium.
If you’re shopping on the marketplace, it’s important to compare all of your options before selecting a plan. You’ll also want to make sure that any policy offers adequate coverage and that there are no exclusions for pre-existing conditions or medications which might be necessary for treating those conditions.
pros and cons of having two health insurance
If you have the option to get dual health insurance in Arizona, you may wonder whether you should or not. Read on to learn about the pros and cons.
How Dual Health Insurance Adds Up to More Coverage
With employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and two-income families the norm in America, it isn’t unusual for an employee to have dual health insurance coverage. Referring to the scenario where an employee can receive benefits through their company’s plan as well as their spouse’s (or parent’s) plan, dual health insurance coverage can provide workers with more extensive benefits and reduce their out-of-pocket costs for medical care.
But integrating coverage and paying out claims when two carriers are involved can be tricky. Fortunately, the Arizona system facilitates the coordination of benefits in dual health insurance situations, ensuring that the two health plans complement each other rather than pay out twice for the same claim. Here’s how it works for employees who can leverage the benefits of two group health insurance programs.
Primary Plans and Secondary Plans with Dual Health Insurance
An employee enrolled in their company’s health insurance plan may also be a dependent covered under their spouse’s or parent’s employer-sponsored health plan. In such cases, the insurance carriers involved will designate one of those plans the “primary plan” for the employee while the other is the “secondary plan.”
Generally, an Arizona employee’s plan through their employer will be the primary, while coverage they obtain through their spouse’s plan will be secondary. For a child under age 26 who has coverage under a parent’s plan, that plan usually becomes secondary once their child gets coverage of their own through an employer. For a dependent child who has two plans through their parents, the “birthday rule” typically makes the policy of the older parent the primary and the younger parent’s plan secondary.
Benefits of Dual Health Insurance Coverage
Dual health insurance coverage can be an attractive option for eligible employees because the two plans can be essentially stacked on top of each other to provide more extensive benefits. This is particularly important when major illnesses, catastrophic injuries, or other large claims arise.
In a dual coverage situation, the primary insurer will pay out benefits first. However, those benefits may not, and usually will not, cover all out-of-pocket expenses for a particular procedure, treatment, or hospitalization. In such cases, the secondary coverage would kick in, and the benefits under that plan could make up the difference in whole or in part. Dual coverage can often bring the employee’s costs down to zero for a given claim.
Dual health insurance coverage also provides a backstop for an employee who loses their job. Without dual coverage, unemployed individuals who relied on their old employer for their health insurance could be left without any coverage whatsoever. Even though they could obtain coverage through COBRA or on the Arizona individual and family healthcare marketplace, the cost may be prohibitive or the benefits may be woefully inadequate.
But with dual coverage, that unemployed individuals will still have health insurance coverage and can obtain benefits through their spouse’s or parent’s plan without any interruption in benefits.
Coordinating Dual Health Insurance Coverage
When an Arizona employee has one set of big medical bills and two health insurance carriers that may be on the hook for paying them, those insurers need to work together to sort things out. They do so through a document and process called Coordination of Benefits (COB).
A COB is how insurers allocate coverage between them and designate which plan works as the primary and which as the secondary. The primary plan kicks in first, with the secondary plan picking up any covered costs not paid by the primary insurer.
Potential Downsides of Dual Health Insurance Coverage
Expanded benefits and protection from losing coverage after losing a job are unequivocally positive aspects of dual health insurance coverage. However, like most things in life, those upsides come with some downsides as well. First, with two health insurance plans, the covered individuals pay twice as much in premiums as they would if they opted out of one plan and put all their coverage eggs in the basket of their spouse’s or parent’s plan.
Another challenge with dual health insurance coverage is that the coordination of benefits between two plans and two carriers can be complicated and sometimes messy. Things can get especially messy in situations where one plan is a PPO and the other is an HMO, or where a covered employee may also be eligible for Medicare.
Helping Arizona Companies Get and Keep The Right Coverage
Addressing dual health insurance coverage issues proves just one of the countless ways that Anderson Insurance Services helps employers and workers throughout Arizona with health insurance coverage.
An experienced Arizona group health insurance broker, Anderson Insurance Services remains committed to answering your questions, addressing your concerns, and providing solutions that can keep you and your Arizona workforce safe and healthy during these challenging times. In response to COVID-19, we have ensured that we can handle quotes and enrollment via video conferencing, telephone, and email.
Contact us to schedule a free consultation about your small business or individual health insurance needs.