Understanding Primary & Secondary Health Insurance Coverage

Primary and secondary insurance coverage are terms used to describe the order in which insurance policies are used to pay for medical expenses.

Primary insurance is the insurance policy that is responsible for paying for medical expenses first. This is usually the insurance policy that you have through your employer or your own individual health insurance policy.

Secondary insurance is the insurance policy that is responsible for paying for medical expenses after your primary insurance has paid its share. This is usually a supplemental insurance policy that you have purchased to provide additional coverage.

For example, let's say you have a primary insurance policy that covers 80% of your medical expenses and a secondary insurance policy that covers 20% of your medical expenses. If you have a medical bill for $1,000, your primary insurance will pay $800 and your secondary insurance will pay $200.

It's important to note that the order of coverage for primary and secondary insurance can vary depending on your specific insurance policies. Some insurance policies may have different rules for how they coordinate benefits with other policies. If you have any questions about how your primary and secondary insurance will work, you should contact your insurance companies directly.