Disability Health Insurance
Disability health insurance ensures income to an individual even when he cannot work, owing to prolonged sickness or an injury. He has the option of either insuring his entire income or at least a part of it.
This is a very important coverage for people who are working. Most of the organizations offer disability health insurance for their employees. In fact many states in the US have instructed employers to provide disability health insurance to their employees.
Some individuals may also be eligible for a government sponsored disability insurance plan. Please note that this insurance will not help in providing cost for rehabilitation.
The result of a survey conducted with individuals on the problems they faced, when they were disabled highlights the following:
1. Individuals found it very difficult to pay their essential bills such as utility expenses and rent.
2. As they were not covered by Health Insurance, they were not able to get medical treatment nor could they present their recent medical history to an administrative law judge.
3. They did not have access to prescription medications.
The problems mentioned above indicates how important it is to be covered by the disability health insurance. As a matter of fact, Individuals who do not have Health Insurance are penalized by the disability evaluation system.
Some times while reviewing a claim for an individual with severe back pain, asthma or psychiatric disorder, the claim could be denied if the individual was prescribed medication but did not take it.
The only solution to these problems is to ensure that you have Disability Health Insurance coverage.
If you have an insurance plan that covers disability you are eligible for the following benefits:
Compensation for Disability: The compensation is granted to individuals if the injury or illness that made them disabled is related to their job. Generally the insurance company and the employer fix the compensation as a percentage. The compensation covers all types of disablements including mental disorders, stress disorder or physical injuries.
Disability Pension: The annual income of an employee is paid in 12 equal installments, to the disabled individual or his family. Sometimes the amount is decided based on the service put by the employee or based on the seriousness of disability. In some states senior citizens about the age of 65 years who do not have any source of income are also eligible for disability pension.
With the objective of attracting and retaining skilled workers, some employers offer additional benefits along with disability health insurance. Some of the additional benefits offered are as follows:
a. The employer may pay full premiums for your disability health insurance.
b. Some employers offer disability health insurance at discounted rates and provide other plans that have larger coverage.
c. Employers may offer free short-term disability insurance and encourage the employee to enroll in long-term disability insurance plan.
Some of the companies that offer disability health insurance are:
Blue Cross
Celtic Insurance Company
Forties Health
United Health Care etc.