The catastrophic health insurance plan is an insurance policy aimed at people who rarely access healthcare. It protects against damaging health situations that might occur to them.

The plan requires the payment of a low monthly premium and a high annual deductible. While this plan provides coverage when you are seriously ill or injured and require intensive medical care, it does not cater to typical illnesses. Hence, if you have a common medical ailment, you will have to pay the bulk of it yourself.

Who is Eligible for a Catastrophic Health Insurance Coverage Plan?

To qualify for the catastrophic health insurance plan, you have to be below the age of 30. If you are above 30 and still want to register, you need a hardship or affordability exemption.

To get an exemption, you have to prove you are in danger of any of the following:

  1. You are currently facing eviction or foreclosure or have already been evicted
  2. You are homeless
  3. You are a domestic violence victim
  4. Your utility company has sent you a shut-off notice
  5. You are a victim of a natural or human-caused disaster like fire or flood that caused massive damage to your property.
  6. You are officially bankrupt
  7. You have experienced the death of a family member
  8. You can’t pay a substantial amount of your medical expenses
  9. Your necessary expenses unexpectedly increased due to you caring for a disabled, aging, or ill family member
  10. You claim a child who Medicaid and CHIP have denied coverage as a tax dependent. And another person has been issued a court order to provide the child’s medical support. In such a situation, you don’t have to pay the child’s penalty.
  11. Due to an eligibility appeals decision, you are qualified to do any of the following:
    1. Using the Marketplace for registering in a qualified health plan (QHP)
    2. Reducing the charge on your monthly premium
    3. Reduce cost-sharing for a period during which you weren’t enrolled in the qualified health plan through the Marketplace
  12. You are considered ineligible for Medicaid because your state did not increase the scope of eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
  13. “Grandfathered” individual insurance plans exemptions are no longer available for 2017 and later.
  14. You experienced a different hardship obtaining health insurance

To be eligible for the catastrophic health insurance plan under the hardship exemption, you need to fill an exemption application form. Bear in mind that these forms differ based on the state you live in. so, start by finding the right shape and instructions for your home state. You can do so by filling the health coverage exemption application.

If you qualify for this health plan, it will be one of the options available to you when you complete your marketplace insurance application. However, while your insurance plan will pay a considerable portion of the medical services it covers, you first must meet your annual deductible. If you want to find out more about catastrophic health insurance or purchase one, contact our insurance professionals at Weaver & Associates.