Colorado Short-Term Health Insurance Plans
Under Colorado's strict new regulations, no insurers offer short-term plans in the state. A new SEP allows people with terminating short-term plans to buy ACA-compliant coverage through the Colorado state health exchange.
However, you can purchase a hospital and doctor indemnity insurance plan through United Healthcare.
Health ProtectorGuard is a Hospital and Doctor fixed indemnity plan. That’s a complicated label for a simple concept—Health ProtectorGuard pays a set benefit for certain medical expenses, the kind that you’re most likely to face during a given year.
Doctor office visits, prescription payments, X-rays, outpatient procedures, even a hospital stay: Health ProtectorGuard offers coverage for all these and more by paying a fixed cash amount for each.
Hospital and Doctor Fixed Indemnity Insurance
Help for Many Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses
Hospital and doctor fixed indemnity insurance, also known as fee for service insurance, pays a set amount of money when you receive specific covered medical services. That's money that can serve as a financial boost to help you deal with those expenses.2
Bills can be sneaky. They have a way of showing up when you least expect them—one right on top of another, once you’ve forgotten about that purchase you made. Medical bills can be the most unexpected. A health condition often comes without warning and that means a visit to the doctor or a ride in an ambulance.
But what if there were benefits to help offset those up-front medical costs you’re facing? That’s the concept behind Hospital and Doctor fixed indemnity insurance.
Health ProtectorGuard
Our Rating: ★★★★☆
Health ProtectorGuard is a Hospital and Doctor fixed indemnity plan. That’s a complicated label for a simple concept—Health ProtectorGuard pays a set benefit for certain medical expenses, the kind that you’re most likely to face during a given year.
Doctor office visits, prescription payments, X-rays, outpatient procedures, even a hospital stay: Health ProtectorGuard offers coverage for all these and more by paying a fixed cash amount for each.
Health ProtectorGuard is a flexible fixed indemnity insurance product with...
- Coverage possible for the entire family and renewable through age 65
- First dollar coverage, meaning you are paid the fixed benefit amount for covered expenses once the expense is submitted
- No network restrictions for providers or hospitals, with service rate discounts available at many locations on some plans
- Benefits paid for specified services regardless of other insurance coverage
- With your choice of benefits options to fit any budget, this will be the best option for most people.
Best for: Most healthy people (without major pre-existing conditions or upcoming surgeries), people between coverage or jobs
With Health ProtectorGuard, you don’t have to make a deductible payment. There are no copays or split payment formula, no drug pricing tiers. You or your chosen provider just submit a covered medical expense, and the amount specified in the plan is paid for that service, regardless of other coverage.
Also with Health ProtectorGuard
Coverage is available for individuals and families.
Plans are renewable up to age 65.
Plans are available year-round. You don’t have to wait for an enrollment period.
Choose any doctor or hospital you want. You aren’t limited by a provider network.
Why Buy Hospital & Doctor Indemnity Insurance?
Hospital & Doctor insurance, like Health ProtectorGuard underwritten by Golden Rule Insurance Company, is a type of coverage called fixed indemnity insurance.1 It’s a funny-sounding name for a common type of insurance, one that has been around for decades.
What is indemnity insurance? A fixed indemnity plan pays a set benefit amount for specific, covered medical services regardless of other types of insurance you might have.
With an indemnity health plan, if you face costs from one of the services covered, your plan pays the set benefit specified2—it’s that simple.
Once you know what it is and understand the simple idea behind the complex name, the question remains: Why would you want it? A few reasons are worth considering.
Indemnity Insurance Can Help You Go Beyond Your Network
Maybe your regular doctor isn't in your current health plan network. Maybe there’s an out-of-network specialist you prefer for a procedure. Or maybe you just travel extensively outside the regional area of your network covers.
Whatever the reason, you hesitate looking beyond your network because the penalties of going out of network are steep. However, a fixed indemnity health plan pays a set amount of money per covered service. It isn’t subjected to network restrictions. There are no in-network versus out-of-network concerns. You get the same benefit regardless of where you go for care.
So if you’re feeling the pinch of a network with narrow choices, a Hospital and Doctor indemnity plan can give you more options.
Indemnity Insurance Can Give You Additional Options
Because insurance companies have to control their costs, with your major medical insurance you may sometimes find yourself facing more limited options in several areas:
- Where to go for coverage and what doctors you can see
- What drug to get and whether to get the name brand version or a generic prescription
- Whether or not to see a specialist and which one
- The time of year you can enroll for coverage
Hospital and Doctor indemnity health insurance might help give you additional options beyond those in your major medical plan.
An indemnity plan like Health ProtectorGuard, underwritten by Golden Rule Insurance Company, can pay you cash directly for covered services, money which is yours to use as you please. You can then pay toward that medical expense or pay some other bill. The choice is yours.
Also, getting a benefit per service means payment is made the same regardless of where you have the service performed. That leaves the choice of health provider or health facility fully up to you.
Finally, indemnity health insurance is available all year round. That translates into health insurance coverage that’s accessible when you need it.
Indemnity Insurance Can Help Offset the High Cost of Coverage
Since a Hospital and Doctor indemnity plan pays once you’ve submitted proof of a covered expense, you see the benefits of it right away. Quick, up-front payments mean some help with those deductibles, copays, and coinsurance payments you’re still making even when you have major medical insurance.
Further, what indemnity insurance pays benefits for are often the common expenses you or your family might have during a year, for example, doctor visits, outpatient procedures, or lab work. Instead of feeling like you are taking on the whole bill, you get some financial help targeted right where you might need it most.
What Fixed Indemnity Insurance Is
A major medical insurance plan will pay for all or a percentage of covered expenses after you meet certain deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket costs. However, a fixed indemnity plan is different. It pays you a certain predetermined amount for specified health care services.
- You don’t have to pay copays or out-of-pocket deductibles before you get benefits.
- You don’t have to worry about conflicts with other insurance coverage.
- You don’t have to stay in-network if you don't want to.
If you have a qualified expense under your Hospital and Doctor fixed indemnity plan, you or the provider you designate get paid the amount specified in your plan for that service.1
What Fixed Indemnity Insurance Isn’t
Don’t be confused. This type of plan provides limited benefits. It pays a certain amount per covered medical service, often up to a certain calendar-year maximum.
It is not major medical insurance and does not provide the coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare. It does not provide coverage for all the essential health benefits outlined in the ACA.
And unlike an ACA plan, it will most likely not provide coverage for expenses resulting from any preexisting medical conditions. Read your plan carefully to see what is and what isn’t covered. Simply put, a fixed indemnity plan isn’t
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