A cancer and heart health insurance policy is commonly known as a Critical Illness supplement. Plans pay the policy holder a predetermined lump sum cash payment upon diagnosis of stroke, heart attack, or life threatening cancer. The lump sum cash payment and approval process (underwriting) is different depending on the insurance company selling the Critical Illness plan. This compensation style plan is called Indemnity insurance. Indemnity’s “compensate” people for a financial loss. Financial loss being doctor or hospital bills.
If a medical insurance consumer is reading this article it’s because they’re specifically interested in coverage relating to cancer and the heart. People in the United States have two main routes to insure things like cancer and strokes. The primary way to cover these medical conditions is a HDHP (high deductible health plan) that is also referred to as Catastrophic Insurance. These policies are decent at covering the “big stuff” but the monthly premiums aren’t cheap, you’ll have to qualify medically, rate increases are every year, and some plans have high deductibles. Deductible is the dollar amount you pay out of pocket before the insurance company pays. Typical deductibles in the individual health insurance market are $2,500, $5,000, $7,500, and $10,000. In most cases, your responsible for the deductible amount and the insurance company is supposed to pay for bills above and beyond the deductible. Individuals can also jump onto a group insurance policy but this usually means working for someone else and is a different story then the individual PPO market.
If someone wants a major medical PPO plan (preferred provider organization), I’d suggest getting a high deductible to keep the monthly premiums affordable and cover that deductible with a cancer and stroke insurance supplement or a personal accident insurance plan. If you can’t qualify for a major medical PPO plan or can’t afford the monthly premiums, check out Critical Illness and injury insurance plans to fill that coverage gap. Plans are practical, guarantee issue, and reasonably priced.
Here’s prices from the leading Critical Illness supplement with a $10,000 cash benefit:
Individual and Spouse coverage: $48.00 USD each month.
Individual coverage: $25.00 USD each month.
Personal injury insurance plan prices: (coverage for bodily injuries and not sickness)
Individual – $36.00 USD per month for a $10,000 plan.
Individual – $29.00 USD per month for a $7,500.
Individual – $24.00 USD per month for a $5,000.
Family – $47.00 USD per month for a $10,000 plan.
Family – $41.00 USD per month for a $7,500.
Family – $35.00 USD per month for a $5,000.
In this article I’m writing about cancer and stroke insurance plans that pay up to $10,000 US dollars. Plans are not considered insurance. These plans are indemnity’s which are a form of compensation insurance. Common uses of the lump sum payment with Critical Illness plans are to cover the initial emergency room visit, pay off other health insurance deductibles, job retraining, school tuition, and basically any form of treatment the insured wants.
A cancer and heart health insurance policy can be used to compliment an existing HDHP (high deductible health plan) or used as a personal critical illness plan. A typical emergency room visit bill either comes from an accidental bodily injury or a stroke / heart attack. Many people in the United States have a family deductible of $5,000, $7,500, and $10,000. The fundamental concern with high deductible catastrophic plans is the exposure to paying that deductible when it’s time for the emergency room. Major medical PPO plans with high deductibles work great for paying large bills like Organ transplants, cancer, and that’s what they are designed for. However, plans are exposed to that initial emergency room visit which is where a lot of health insurance plans max out the deductible.
To summarize some general tips on critical illness plans and ways to insure cancer and heart related expenses:
1. Get a HDHP with the highest possible deductible to keep the monthly cost affordable. To get some quick quotes on the major health insurance PPO carriers in your state jump online and use insurance company websites that allow you to see all competing company prices at a glance. Plug in your zip code and all the competing medical insurance companies available in your state are clearly listed in one screen shot. Kind of like buying plane tickets online. Plus you can get quotes without an aggressive insurance agent in your face. Higher the deductible, lower the monthly premium. When selecting a medical insurance broker, look for someone who’s not a “captive agent.” If a commission salesperson only works for one company of course they will be biased. Agents that are true “brokers” represent all the good companies in your state and can compare all the companies and see what makes sense for you. Another advantage to using a insurance agent that represents several different companies is their ability to provide more solutions when the rate increases come 12 months later. When looking for an individual major medical PPO plan the highest deductible is usually $5,000. If your looking for a family PPO plan the highest family deductible is usually $10,000. Make sure the policy includes RX (prescription drugs). Many major medical insurance companies sell high deductible catastrophic plans that don’t cover RX or prescriptions. If you purchase a HDHP without RX coverage and let’s say get diagnosed with cancer, the policy will not pay for any of the chemotherapy drugs and the policy is worthless. Make sure the high deductible health plan has RX coverage built into it. Plans without prescription drug coverage are available online and the monthly premiums are cheaper. But if you ever need that plan for a major illness that requires prescription drugs, you’ll be paying for the drug expense out of pocket. Plans with a five million lifetime max benefit is considered good for catastrophic policies.
2. Cover that huge deductible with a $10,000 Critical Illness supplement and a $10,000 benefit personal accident insurance plan. This will payoff that deductible giving it almost a zero deductible effect from any initial ER admittance. So the major medical insurance plan covers you on the big medical bills (so we hope), and the cancer and stroke insurance and injury insurance plan cover the initial emergency room bills that aren’t paid by the HDHP.
3. If the major medical plans are too expensive or you can’t qualify, personal injury insurance plans and cancer heart health insurance policy are guarantee acceptance in most cases and the monthly cost is reasonable. Both types of compensation insurance plans (indemnity) can be used with any licensed doctor or hospital.
