What is a waiting period?

A waiting period is a period of time that must pass before a health insurance plan starts to provide coverage for certain services or treatments. In Washington, the minimum waiting period must be no longer than 90 days. Waiting periods are often used to discourage people from signing up for insurance only when they need medical care. For example, if someone knows they are going to need expensive medical treatment soon, they might try to wait until right before the treatment to get insurance so they don’t have to pay for it out of pocket. A waiting period is one way to discourage people from doing this and ensure that everyone pays their fair share. The waiting period begins when a person first enrolls in their health insurance plan. During the waiting period, an insured person is technically covered, but they won’t be able to use any of the benefits or services until the waiting period has passed. In Washington, preventive care, such as immunizations and physicals, are usually covered without any waiting period. Waiting periods are also sometimes used to prevent fraud. For example, someone might try to sign up for a health insurance plan and then immediately claim benefits for something that happened before they even enrolled. To prevent this, most insurance plans have waiting periods that must be met before any claims can be approved. Overall, the waiting period is a standard part of most health insurance plans and helps ensure that everyone pays their fair share for coverage. It also helps prevent fraud and helps make sure that people don’t take advantage of the system. As long as you understand how waiting periods work, you should have no problem getting the coverage you need.

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