Gaps In Medical Coverage You Need To Watch Out For

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Even good health insurance plans can have gaps in coverage. When you’re shopping around for your new plan, whether it’s provided by your employer or you’re going through a government-sponsored marketplace, make sure these elements are covered.

Dental

Shockingly few health care plans come with dental coverage included. You will likely need to look into a supplemental plan to cover even dental care basics like yearly cleanings and x-rays. If you’re someone who’s prone to cavities and other dental hygiene issues, you’ll want to make sure your supplemental plan includes coverage for those treatments.

In addition to standard dental needs, you may want to double check your coverage for orthodontia as well, especially adult orthodontia. If you have a particular orthodontist you want to work with to correct any crookedness in your smile, you can always browse a plan’s network before settling to see if your preferred specialist is included.

Vision

Considering how necessary glasses and contact lenses are to the people who use them, it can come as quite a shock that annual eye exams, frames, and lenses are frequently not included in health insurance plans. Fortunately, there are many options for additional vision insurance coverage. When looking at vision plans, check to see if they cover procedures like laser eye surgery as well as basics like contacts and glasses.

Travel

Not every medical emergency happens within your home network of doctors and hospitals. Even if you’re not traveling too far afield, you should make sure you have some kind of travel insurance in your plan to save you from sky-high medical costs that can mount when you have medical emergencies away from home. These costs can include foreign hospitals stays, repatriation costs, translators, and any and all medical care you receive while out of your main network.

Most insurance companies provide travel insurance plans than can be purchased for specific trips at relatively low cost. It may even be worth checking with your credit card company to see if they offer travel insurance coverage as a benefit on your card. Just be sure to ask specifically about travel heath insurance, as “travel insurance” is also used to describe programs that allow you to be remibursed for things like the cost of plane tickets and hotels in the event you’re forced to cancel your trip.

Health insurance is important, but many of the plans available to choose from aren’t as comprehensive as you’d hope. Take time to ask questions about what your plan does and doesn’t cover so you know if you need to seek out more coverage to fill in the gaps.