Losing your job is bad enough without having to worry about how to get health insurance coverage for your medical bills. Here are a few strategies that will help if you suddenly find yourself unemployed and uninsured.

1) Use benefits while you still have them

Many employers will continue medical and dental benefits for terminated and “laid off” employees till the end of the pay period during which their employment ended. Recall that you do pay a portion of your premiums and if you are already paid up for a period of time, it is in your best interest to use those benefits while they are still in effect. If you’re fortunate enough to still have several weeks on your benefits, get in to see your doctors and dentists right away.

It may be worth calling several in-network providers to find one that can get you on the schedule soon enough to still be covered.

2) Determine if you can afford COBRA coverage

Under the COBRA law, you can continue to purchase health insurance through your employer’s plan after being terminated. You have about 60 days to decide whether you will maintain health insurance coverage through your ex-employer. Unfortunately, it is very expensive when your employer isn’t paying 70%-90% of the premiums. Not many people can afford to do this.
If you are not a high utilizer of health insurance, it may make more sense for you to enroll in an individual health insurance policy with a high deductible.

3) Enroll your children in your state’s Medicaid or SCHIP

If you have recently lost your job, or healthcare benefits are not offered at your current employer, I recommend you try to enroll your children in Medicaid or SCHIP.

It is very difficult for adults to access Medicaid. However, over 60% of non-elderly Medicaid enrollees are children in families with limited income. SCHIP is a program that expands Medicaid’s income eligibility criteria so that more children will be eligible. Many states will now allow parents that make too much money to pay very reasonable premiums to get their children covered under Medicaid or SCHIP.

4) Get quotes on individual coverage for adults in your family

Even if you do enroll your children in Medicaid or SCHIP, it is fairly unlikely that you will be eligible as an adult. Individual health insurance brokers like http://www.eHealthinsurance.com can price out health insurance for you under various insurance companies. Remember, the higher your deductibles and coinsurance, the lower your premiums will be.

5.) Lifestyle: Minimize your risk exposure to injury and disease

I chose my employer’s high deductible plan last year thinking I might save some money on my premiums. I had recently taken up skiing and three short months later I tore several ligaments in my knee. I probably could have saved myself over $1,000 in deductible costs if I had chosen the plan with slightly higher premiums.

If you don’t have insurance, or if you are carrying an individual plan with very high deductibles, I would recommend you avoid taking up new adventure sports or perhaps take a break until you are back in an employer-based health plan.

6.) Get any kind of coverage you can afford within 63 days

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) will keep health insurers from excluding you from coverage for reason of pre-existing medical conditions if you find new coverage within 63 days of the date you last had coverage.

The new healthcare bill, the Affordable Care Act, will eliminate pre-existing medical condition exclusions in 2014, but they are still in effect for adults between now and then so I’d recommend you buy any insurance you can afford, even if it is really bad, before day 63.

Author Bio: Contributed by Nicholas Newsad, M.H.S.A., author of Medical Bill Help and The Medical Bill Survival Guide.

Category: Finances
Keywords: medical bill,health insurance,unemployed,uninsured,COBRA