Today, one hospital stay in California will typically cost somewhere within the range of $8,500. That figure can, of course, be much higher depending upon exactly what type of procedures and hospital care is required during your stay. With the typical hospital visit at least a few days long, it is easy to understand how medical costs can get out of hand literally overnight! Catastrophic health insurance coverage is the type of coverage that is designed specifically to help out in situations just like this: Those unexpected hospital stays and lengthy illnesses that you just could not have planned for.

The catastrophic health insurance plans that are provided by companies, such as Aetna and HealthNet, include coverage for a variety of situations involving serious illness. In most cases, Catastrophic health insurance plans are best used in addition to a more basic health insurance plan that will cover the more minor medical expenses such as doctor visits, wellness check-ups, and the cost of your medications outside of the hospital. Sometimes healthy young people who can’t afford the cost of basic health insurance may also choose to buy catastrophic plans as their only health insurance, so that they can have a sort of emergency “safety net” in case they become very seriously sick or injured.

Your immunizations and any regular medications that you may take for conditions like blood pressure, arthritis, or any other physical ailment, are the types of things that your primary health insurance will take care of. On the other hand, when you are suddenly rendered extremely ill due to an unexpected virus and you have to be hospitalized for weeks, or when you are hurt badly in an auto accident and require major surgery and an extended hospital stay, these are situations when your catastrophic plan will go to work for you. Most of the catastrophic plans will cover only hospital stays, but it is important that you clarify this with your insurance agent so that you are aware of exactly how much coverage you have.

The catastrophic plan will kick in when you are suddenly in the hospital unexpectedly. Sometimes the catastrophic plans are identified specifically in the title of the policy — “Catastrophic” or “Hospital Only” may be part of the policy’s title — but in some cases it is not.

You can choose either individual catastrophic plans or catastrophic plans that will cover your entire family. When deciding if a catastrophic plan is right for you, it is important to consider several things. First, decide whether you intend to use it as a supplement to another basic health policy. If so, you may need less extensive catastrophic coverage since many basic health plans cover at least some degree of serious illness. This is still a great supplement to nearly any basic health coverage, however, because it will keep you from having to go into your own pocket when you have a major hospital stay.

 

If you are still very young, have no serious or preexisting medical problems, you don’t take prescriptions, and you don’t see the doctor very often, you might want to consider catastrophic health plans as your health policy in California. Keep in mind, though, that this is best used as a stand-alone policy by those individuals who want emergency coverage only.