Short-Term Health Plans Ideal Summer Coverage For College

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - May 5, 2017) - With today marking the end of spring semester at many schools, college students will need to make health insurance decisions in order to avoid becoming uninsured. Students on a break from classes may need temporary coverage for the summer while recent graduates may need coverage until they can get health benefits from an employer. What many students don't know is that a short-term health plan can be an ideal option in these circumstances. AgileHealthInsurance.com has assembled the following information to help students facing a coverage gap decide whether short-term health insurance fits their needs.

Students who are rapidly approaching the end of their existing insurance should consider that short-term coverage can be acquired quickly. An insurer can approve an application in as little as 24 hours and issue an insurance card to a student the same day as approval. Short-term coverage includes major medical benefits such as doctor and specialist visits, hospitalization, emergency care and drug discounts. Most short-term plans include broad networks, or no in-network requirement, so a student can see a provider anywhere in the country. This is particularly helpful for students who may be travelling within the United States, living away from their college or parents, or are undecided as to where they will live during the summer. 

Short-term health insurance is also inexpensive. When comparing short-term plans to Obamacare plans, students may find the short-term premiums are around half the cost or even lower. If short-term coverage is used for less than three consecutive months within a year, enrollees are not subject to the "shared responsibility tax" under the Affordable Care Act. Students should be aware that short-term health insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions so health status should be factored into the insurance decision. Additionally, the student may have alternative sources of coverage such as:

College Insurance: Some college health plans will cover students beyond graduation or into the summer for current students. Students with college health insurance should contact their plan and find out when their coverage will end.

Parents' Health Plan: Children can remain on their parent's health plan (or be added to it) until they turn age 26. Children don't have to be financial dependents or living at home so long as they are under age 26. However, if a child is living away at school and has no in-network providers in the area, the parents' health plans may charge higher fees at out-of-network facilities or provide no out-of-network coverage except for medical emergencies.

Job-Based Coverage: Health insurance provided by an employer is a great benefit recent grads should seek in a job. However, employer-based coverage can have a waiting period up to 90 days before coverage becomes effective for a new employee.

Obamacare: Under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), students may qualify for a mid-year enrollment if their health coverage ends. Students can compare coverage options at HealthCare.gov and see if they qualify for a subsidy.

"Short-term health insurance is a great way to prevent students from becoming uninsured in the summer," said Bruce Telkamp, CEO and founder of AgileHealthInsurance.com. "Its low premiums fit a student's budget and its flexible term options are perfect for breaks in college insurance or waiting periods before employer benefits begin."

To learn more about term health insurance, visit AgileHealthInsurance's Learning Center at www.AgileHealthInsurance.com .

AgileHealthInsurance.com was created to educate people about the benefits of short-term health insurance and provide a fast, online process for purchasing these plans. Short term health insurance is a flexible and low-cost major medical insurance for individuals without expensive pre-existing health conditions. It is not Obamacare. Short-term health plans offer consumers the flexibility to choose health plans with the benefits that matter most to them and combine these benefits with broad provider networks. Additional information about AgileHealthInsurance can be found at www.AgileHealthInsurance.com .

AgileHealthInsurance is a Silicon Valley based technology company and independently managed division of Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. ( NASDAQ : HIIQ ). This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact, and may include statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding new markets, products, services, growth strategies, anticipated trends in our business and anticipated changes and developments in the United States health insurance system and laws. Forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs are generally identifiable by use of words "may," "might," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue," or similar expressions and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to maintain relationships and develop new relationships with health insurance carriers and distributors, our ability to retain our members, the demand for our products, the amount of commissions paid to us or changes in health insurance plan pricing practices, our ability to integrate our acquisitions, competition, changes and developments in the United States health insurance system and laws, and our ability to adapt to them, the ability to maintain and enhance our name recognition, difficulties arising from acquisitions or other strategic transactions, and our ability to build the necessary infrastructure and processes to maintain effective controls over financial reporting. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements are discussed in HIIQ's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other documents that may be filed by HIIQ from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov . Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. You should not rely on any forward-looking statement as representing our views in the future. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.