Secondary health insurance is a type of policy that is used to cover medical expenses that have not been covered by your primary insurance plan. Typically, a person will have secondary medical insurance by being covered as a dependent under another family member’s plan. Secondary health insurance is usually optional and can provide several benefits to the insured.
Limited Out of Pocket Expenses
The way that secondary health insurance works is that the secondary company will only be billed after the primary insurance company has been billed. The charges that the primary insurance company will not cover are billed to the secondary health insurance carrier. Since you have a secondary insurance carrier, you will likely have limited out of pocket expenses.
Cover Additional Treatment Costs
If your primary insurance does not provide coverage for dental and vision treatments, you may find coverage through your secondary insurance plan. Dental treatments, including check-ups, fillings and tooth repair, can be very expensive. Visits to the eye doctor and eyeglasses or contact lenses can also be costly. Secondary health insurance plans can assuage these costs.
Medicare patients will frequently have secondary health insurance plans. Since Part A of Medicare is usually free and pays for hospital stays, patients may choose to have another insurance company provide secondary coverage for their other medical expenses.
Reduced Number of Denials
Getting a claim denial from your insurance company can be a devastating blow, especially if the medical bill is a large amount. If your claim from the primary insurance company is denied, you can send the bill to your secondary insurance company. Your provider will either bill the secondary insurance on your behalf or require that you submit the claim. Since you are sending the claim in to two separate providers, you have an increased chance of the claim going through and the bill being paid.
By Heather Topham Wood
Originally posted by www.LiveStrong.com