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There is a lot of financial stress when you lose a job as you lose a lot of access to benefits that you had received from the employer, such as health insurance. When you don’t have a continuous and reliable source of income, paying for individual health insurance may seem a bit unrealistic. When you lose your job, you are qualified for 60 days for a particular enrollment period in the marketplace (health insurance) regulated by the US Government. There are indeed many insurance options available for those who have recently left their job, but people need to act fast and accordingly. Even if there is always an option to elect the COBRA coverage, this coverage is a bit more expensive than the other ones.

Best Healthcare Insurance for Unemployed

After evaluating the prices, coverage options, flexibility and benefits, we have developed the top 7 insurance companies for the unemployed. Following are the best healthcare insurance for the unemployed for the years 2021-

Sidecar

Sidecar health insurance was founded in the year 2018. They provide plans that have low costs with no flexible commitment on health insurance. This health insurance is available in only 17 states with a complicated claim process. Sidecar health sends a payment car that is used to pay in cash for every visit you make. The plans can be purchased online or through the Sidecar Health smartphone App by filling up a quick and easy application form. Once done with filling the form, you will be given an option to purchase one of the three pre-configured policies or else you can choose your customized coverage. The standard plans are $0, which are deductible by default, while a custom plan allows a deductible (up to $ 1,000) to lower the monthly payments.

The IHC Group

The IHC Group provides short term medical plans and is the best way to stay covered for almost a year. They have flexible terms of up to 364 days, and it also has an option to add supplemental coverage. If you are currently unemployed and know that you will have health insurance again in the next year or years, an STM plan may be the best option. This company is best known for short term insurance as they provide the short term policies that can be purchased with coverage that will be effective from the next day. You can have the option for adding coverage for dental, prescriptions, vision and telehealth depending on which state you reside with riders that start from $25 per month.

BlueCross BlueShield

Blue cross blue shield’s policies have the best catastrophic policy coverage as they have an economical option for the unemployed individuals who can’t afford the standard health insurance. This plan is available in around 50 states and has an extensive provider network. They also offer plans for adults who are younger than 30 years of age. The policies provided by BCBS are either HMOs or PPOs, depending solely on the state. Their policy terms also vary by location, but they share standard features of catastrophic insurance- high deductibles, low premiums, and free access to preventive medicine required by the Affordable Care Act.

Cigna

The Cigna individual health insurance partners with two major telehealth networks. For anyone unemployed at the moment, Cigna can be a lifesaver with access to telehealth services. The cons of Cigna individual health insurance are that they provide 24/7 customer service, they provide dental coverage, which starts at $19 per month, the company places a $25 monthly copay limit on insulin regardless of the coverage level, and most of the individual plan includes $0 virtual care. Its personal and family policies are available in 10 states only.

Oscar

When you are unemployed, you lose company-sponsored health insurance, and your codependents are also dropped off from that coverage. The Oscar is limited to 18 states only with the smaller network, but it is primarily famous for the best family insurance plan as it doesn’t eat up the savings fund while unemployed. They have a fully functional smartphone App, and the coverage is easy to purchase online, and they have additional perks.

Ambetter

This insurance company is better known for its dental plans as the dental coverage available with the most plan is as little as $12. In addition to low-cost dental coverage, the benefits that Ambetter include is Virtual Teledoc visits and a 24-hour nurse advice line along with a healthy living rewards program known as My Health Pays, which provides for getting a flu shot or watching educational videos. Ambetter has a strict late payment policy, so make sure that you can afford your premiums; otherwise, they will cancel the coverage if you fall more than 30 days behind. They are currently serving in 25 states.

UnitedHealthcare

United Healthcare comes with more than 1.3 million physicians and 6000 hospitals. They are the most significant health insurance provider in the Country, which offers short term medical plans in every state. Even though they have a good variety of plan types, their premiums tend to be on a higher side, and their coverage is available only for three years through the TriTerm program. The policyholder can get a discount by combining the health plan with supplemental coverage like vision or dental.