Eric Said:

Can someone give me an example when might someone have primary and secondary health insurance?

We Answered:

You have insurance through your work, and through your spouse's work.

Paul Said:

Does secondary health insurance cover or pay copays of primary health insurance?

We Answered:

You will have to look in your certificate to see how your primary plan coordinates with the secondary plan. There are two types of coordination. Normal liability is when the primary plan pays up to the amount that would be covered if you had no other insurance. For example, if your primary plan pays 80% and your secondary plan pays 70% then it would pick up an additional 10%. But be careful because if your primary plan pays 80% and so does your secondary plan then you will have no additional coverage. Many people take out secondary plans with normal liability only to find that they have no additional coverage. The most common is standard 100%. That means that your primary will pay the difference, including copays. I would suggest calling your primary insurance carrier and asking how they coordinate benefits as every plan is different.

Maria Said:

Taking Secondary Health insurance to take care of bridge amount in Primary one?

We Answered:

You are probably correct. The premium for the secondary policy will more likely than not exceed the benefit. Most policies do not just pick up a balance. Most often they only pay the balance up to what they would have paid if primary.

Ellen Said:

How does Medicaid work as a secondary health insurance?

We Answered:

You most likely will not be able to get Medicaid because you have some insurance already. Medicaid is designed for people who have no other coverage at all. Good luck with your baby!

Nancy Said:

Can a person that has state health insurance get a secondary health insurance?

We Answered:

Any additional policy they would get would become primary and the state Medicaid insurance will become secondary. This is by regulation in all states. Usually, it's the other way around; Medicaid picks up costs "not listed" on their primary insurance.

In most cases this happens if someone else buys the policy, such as a divorced parent, or through an employer that pays most if not all of the premium.

This can also happen if the person has enough income to purchase a very high deductible catastrophic plan but low enough income to get state aid.