Mini-med insurance

affordable coverage for the medical services you use most often

revised 11/3/2015

Mini-med insurance, also called defined benefit insurance or limited benefit insurance, has been the fastest growing type of health insurance in the U.S. over most of the past decade. The reason for its popularity is likely because it covers routine medical expenses without a deductible and the premium price is lower than major medical insurance. The risk is that the insurance will not pay the cost of rare but expensive medical procedures.

The key distinction under health reform law is that mini-med plans do not include "essential benefits" as defined under the law and are therefore excepted benefits not subject to most reform laws.

Some mini-med policies are "guaranteed issue"; that means they are available to all applicants regardless of medical history. Others use medical screening questions to accept only preferred risk applicants. Coverage is valid for any doctor or hospital but billing may be simplified by using a network provider.

Core Health Insurance has been the most popular mini-med plan here at Freedom Benefits for several years. Value Med and Value Access Guarantee also offer a strong menu of benefits and are worth consideration for those who qualify.