Health Insurance Supplement: A buyers Guide to Types available
The focus of health insurance supplements are on the rise and further below explained why as we tackle the handful of health insurance products services and supplements so that the American public can be the insured with a more clear understanding in order for individual and and businesses or benefits managers and HR / Human resource professionals alike can decipher and navigate. It through understanding and clearing the lines of confusion within insurance agreements that often blur these lines and leave the clients uninformed, paying too much, or being under-insured.
Supplemental health insurance comes many different forms but the root policies can be broken down in its simplistic form. From there through further due diligence individuals have a catalyst of understanding and can design the plan that best suits their needs in certain periods of ones life.
Accident Insurance
Covers accidents and is pretty clear. A car accident may be covered under auto insurance but accidents that occur may not always be that and this will pay in addition to all other insurance regardless. Some pay a lump sum based on incidence others as indemnity plan as an expense and for that you will have to ask the agent. Most today are used in addition to major medical health insurance. Although your major medical does carry it, a high deductible health insurance plan such as $5,000-$10,000 dollars will leave the client being self insured for an accident that cost $6000. High deductible insurance is fast becoming the standard in order to be able to afford health insurance and this plan on its own bought through agents outside of your health insurance can cost as little as $20 a month often $50 for entire family. It is with this coverage that can be used typically unlimited times and can cover as much as $10,000 per incident.
Long Term Care Insurance
LTC is sought out usually later on in life with concerns of certain items that are not going to be covered with the realm of a health insurance policy. Care from nurses and entities that service the needs of an elder individual with a policy such as this can be with choices of places and services and a steady inflow of funds and better care than without having coverage. It is as its’ name lends Long Term Care. It can tend to get expensive and the earlier in age you are and can afford to get as with anything is always best. Too often as with most items we wait til it is too late and by that time the cost of coverage is far out of reach monthly.
Critical illness Insurance
Where this particular site excels the Critical illness insurance resource center provides much more information than this paragraph summary. Critical illness is typically a medical condition that is diagnosed that is in its core considered critical. Having a critical condition requires critical care or treatment from such forms as radiation and chemotherapy for cancer, aortic heart surgeries for heart attack victims, and physical therapy for stroke victims as well as many life and altering events luckily modern advancements in technology has an increasing number of persons living beyond diagnosis but can not afford to continue financially without bankruptcy. They may not be able to return to work for a long time and needing income to maintain their lifestyle, clinical trials, home healthcare, coverage for high deductibles, co-insurance, treatment centers etc. In most cases the costs and burdens of the financial turmoil from a critical illness are too much and the insured although having health insurance winds up bankrupt from the listed above health insurance will not cover. Critical illness benefits by getting a lump sum of money upon diagnosis to cover these expense and is often very affordable and most over looked policy to have. Policies are not marketed and lack of presence has left Americans not alerted to its presence til very recently combined with accident insurance is now becoming the standard supplements to have in order to safely have a high deductible health insurance.
Cancer Insurance
A stand alone supplemental health insurance policy that covers you in the event of a diagnosis of cancer. A critical illness insurance policy covers this and more but a cancer policy by itself only covers cancer. Check rates for critical illness plans and you may see there is only a slight difference to have more than cancer covered. There are two different types of polices. One that covers in a lump sum which is increasingly gaining favorability and an indemnity or expense account per incidence whereby the policy states exactly the amount of coverage per month per procedure that the policy will cover. Ultimately a sister policy to critical illness insurance simply less expensive due to the fact that while critical illness covers cancer and other illnesses, most individuals are more familiar with cancer insurance to date.
Medicare Supplement
Medigap as it were has been around for years and most are familiar that you can get this type of policy to cover as a supplement for what is not covered under the general Medicare you might receive from having parts A and B and so many are offered be it plan or part as most are confusing the two but agents need to be specially licensed regarding these plans and not all agents like most supplement plans can sell. Types of plans that cover everything such as “N” or “F” can be costly and there are others such as medicare advantage that if suit your needs, you may have to give up the government issued one entirely. There are many options and is best to contact Medicare.gov for the up to date information and information.
Hospital medical expense insurance
Hospital Bridge some call, this is another form of indemnity plan and covers the hospital cases and typically used as a supplement to health insurance for those that have a high deductible and do not want to pay can get this coverage as a guard. It differs in that it does not pay a lump sum in a critical illness such as cancer. There is no monies to be used for that mentioned within critical illness supplement listed above.
Disability insurance
Both short term and long term should have it’s own two definition one for short and one long but can gather the basic elements that if a disability would be cause to lending to that person being not able to perform tasks as outlined in the policy such as commonly not being able to work or produce income. This policy would then upon a claim not be paid out immediately although it would eventually and at a rate typically 60% of the amount for payment that is normally gained by employment and it pays as a weekly or however designated but not a lump sum and for a specified period of time. Great policy to have if have family with presence of children and you have responsibilities but 60% usually still does not cover the incurred expenses that has come about due to the incident in which one made the claim.
Accidental death and dismemberment or AD&D plans get confused with consumers as an accident insurance which can mean accident health insurance as explained above. In this case accidental death and dismemberment is clear in its name that if something was to occur whereby you were to lose a limb or multiple and in some cases it has to be specific, you would get compensated. It also would benefit payout in the even of accidental death. Unless of age most deaths young are due to accidents. If wound up in the hospital due to an accident of working on your house and then died that would be an accidental death as it was not intentional. If however you had an appendix burst and causing such damage that doctors were not able to save your life that organ was not intentional but clearly is not considered an accident unless perhaps an accident occurred such as a fall resulting from that accident the scenario could then apply. Always check the policy for further info. In the same light if you lose a finger the policy may not pay unless it is two or more as outlined in the policy.
Life insurance
More of a different class of policies and arguably a supplement and one most are familiar with. The newer versions for those that are older have been increasing in popularity called final expense. Basic policies of life have typically been term insurance which is strait coverage in the most basic life insurance form and as such is the least expensive. Other policies have been universal life, whole life and variable life. Of course there are hundreds of different versions but these are typically the core. While all the above are supplemental health insurances this is not health based but life based and separate license is required to sell however majority of the time life agents are health insurance as well. Tricky switch is unless you get a critical illness life insurance policy, in which case it doubles as not only death coverage but critical illness plan that has an accelerated benefit rider making it pay when diagnosed with a covered critical illness. This product on such a life chassis can be listed under life insurance supplement as well as health.
Mortgage protection insurance see critical illness or life
Asset protection insurance-See critical illness insurance
Health Care Reform supplement and summary
Most of these supplement health insurance policies are more in demand than they ever have before and will be for the coming years. Reason more so now is due in large to the Health Care Reform which causes private insurance carriers to constantly raise premiums to pay off the rising costs associated. Also many (62%) of all bankruptcies are because of medical or critical type illnesses that major medical doesn’t cover. These insurance carriers do not cover non medical expenses and close to 2/3rd for cancer itself is non medical.
For heart attacks strokes and so on you still need to pay deductibles, Co-insurance (20% of that 80/20 plan) home health care, loss of income or income protection insurance the list is endless.
Accident insurance is one of the least expensive forms of supplemental insurance. In fact picture an accident as being anything that you might not expect to happen but isn’t your organs having an illness. Falling down stairs or slip and fall, is an accident. A heart attack is not an accident. If you should have an accident and have a 5-10k deductible…well your almost self insured. Best thing to do is get a SEPARATE accidental health insurance (outside of the policy of your major medical) They are very cheap like $20 a month for single individual or $40-$60 max (typically) for a family. Covers up to $10,000 normally and the deductible is only $100-$250. Better than 5-10k the accident may cost in the emergency room fixing that broken leg right?
Critical illness is one of the most important supplemental health insurance plans. Simply put you need money when diagnosed with a critical illness. Why? Well if you have a critical illness such as Cancer, Stroke, Paralysis, Major burns, Coma, Loss of limbs, Heart Attack or any covered critical illness, you are going to be off from work for months recuperating. Disability may kick in too late it may only cover up to 60% of pay and is not going to put the kind of money in your hand the way a critical illness benefit would. It pays lump sum up front at the time you need it after being diagnosed. It is also very affordable. This way you wont wipe out your bank account, beg borrow or steal for money from others like family or friends, or have a tough time getting that second mortgage etc.
Best Solution to lower your health insurance premiums and get more coverage for most that are towards the healthy side…
Get major medical insurance or catastrophic insurance
Raise your deductible to a high deductible =Lower premiums
Offset any deductibles from accidents with an accidental medical expense benefit or accident insurance basically and outside of your major medical.
Offset any deductibles by getting a critical illness supplement insurance policy again, outside the carrier and plan of your health insurance.
Solution result
You got major medical
lowered your payments monthly
secured affordable accidental supplemental insurance and critical illness supplement insurance (sometimes life insurance as well depending on carrier) and you now have still money left over and more coverage than before you started.
For any questions, help, assistance, quotes, contact the critical illness advisers at the critical illness resource center free of cost.