How do I reinstate an individual or a family plan?

Losing health insurance can be a devastating blow. Reinstating a health insurance plan has both some benefits and some drawbacks, so be sure you know the basics before you make a final decision.

Reasons your health insurance plan may have been terminated

Depending on the reason you lost your health insurance, you may or may not be eligible to reinstate your individual or family health insurance plan. Here are some of the most common reasons your plan could have been terminated:

• The health insurance policy wasn’t renewed or the policy lapsed.
• The plan owner didn’t make payments, so the plan was canceled. If this is the case, you may need to pay the amount you owe before you are able to reinstate your plan.
• The plan owner provided incorrect or fraudulent information when signing up for the health insurance plan. Don’t worry—honest, tiny mistakes are still OK. Previously, health insurance companies could deny you coverage for any mistake on your application. However, all health insurance companies are required to still accept your application if you made a small mistake or left out information that has very little to do with how healthy you are. However, if your coverage was terminated due to fraudulent information, you may not be able to reinstate your plan.

Pros and cons of reinstating your health insurance plan

If your insurance was terminated because you couldn’t make the payments, you usually have to pay the full balance before your plan can be reinstated. The health insurance company may charge you a fee to reinstate your individual or family health insurance plan. Even if you are able to get your plan reinstated, the insurance company may charge you more for the same coverage, which can be a major disadvantage to reinstating your plan. In the case of high fees or increased plan cost, you may want to shop around for another health insurance provider that could be cheaper. This is easier for individual health insurance plans for generally healthy people.

However, there are some advantages to reinstating your old health insurance plan rather than finding a new one. Reinstating a previously held plan means you know what the network coverage is and you can continue your relationships with your current physicians, which is especially useful if you have a family plan with lots of dependents. Depending on your circumstances, you may even be able to get the same coverage back for the same price, so you know how much to budget for premiums and copays.

How to reinstate a health insurance plan

In order to reinstate your health insurance plan, you must contact your health insurance provider. If your plan was terminated because of nonpayment, you may need to pay back the missed payments before your plan can resume.

While you are deciding on your options, you may need temporary coverage from COBRA or Healthcare.gov. Keep in mind that when you reinstate your plan, you may need to wait until 90 days have passed for the plan to come back into effect. Contact Select Health at 844-442-4106 to find out if you qualify for a reinstatement.