Health Insurance Answer Guy
How Supplemental Plans Help
With Your Family Health Insurance
"How can supplement health insurance help me with a high deductible plan?"
$1,000 deductible $5,000 deductible $228 - SAVED per month... with better coverage! $2,736 - SAVED per year! Those are some MAJOR bucks!
America's Health Care Plan (AHCP) Dental Only (brochure from AHCP website) Underwritten by National Guardian Life Insurance Company Rated A- (A.M Best) - Benefits and premium vary based on the plan chosen.
You can SUBSTANTIALLY reduce your monthly health insurance premium by being willing to go with a high deductible plan.
"Yeah, my PREMIUMS are lower, but what if something serious does happen to me, my wife, or the kids?"
People purchase low deductible individual health insurance plans, at a much higher premium, simply because they don't have the money put aside to cover themselves should something happen.
You don't have to be caught in a balancing act that weighs your premium against your deductible trying to find that perfect balance. You really can have better coverage and a high deductible plan.
Let me show you an example...
A low deductible ($1,000) plan vs a high deductible ($5,000) plan with a health insurance supplement.
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Husband 41, Wife 41, child 16, child 14
everyone is a picture of health...
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$512 per month TOTAL - Major Medical Only
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$238 Major Medical
99 health insurance supplement / Family
$337 per month TOTAL
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The benefit to you?
Oh! I almost forgot... the supplemental health insurance benefits. For this illustration I used...
AmeriValue Plan - my personal favorite. It's the one I use for my family.
$10,000 - Accidental Death and Dismemberment
$5,000 Accident Medical Insurance - this alone will cover your deductible
$4,000 - Emergency air rescue
$2,500 - Critical illness coverage - lump sum
$1,000 - Dental insurance - per covered person - Per Year!
Free - Vision exam per year / person
...plus some other awesome benefits. Check it out.
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Did you find the GAP in this plan?
Okay, I hi-lited it...
This is mostly an accident plan. It does pay a lump sum for critical illness and accidental D&D, but pays nothing for inpatient services.
BUT, the dental portion of this coverage is as good as you can have with some dental only plans. Taken as a whole, this is an awesome plan. Go to the AmeriValue Plan site to see if your dentist accepts this dental coverage.
"But, what if I'm not in an accident?"
I guess to this I would ask...
"But what if you are?"
There are no perfect health insurance plans out there, just more expensive coverage.
There really are gaps in any plan. As I said before, that is why there are so many types of coverages available to you. Every health insurance company is trying to offer coverage another insurance company won't. No one plan will cover everything.
Want even more coverage?
If you want even better coverage that includes inpatient services, go look at the other examples. If you were to add an inpatient plan to your Major Medical and accident supplement plans, you would STILL come out ahead of that low deductible plan by itself.
For those who can't afford, or are without health insurance...
These plans are GREAT for those individuals and families that can't afford “normal insurance”. Supplemental health insurance plans are certainly better than having NO coverage. Besides, many of these plans have thousands of dollars in accident coverage should you or your family be in, or have, an accident.
Dental and vision are also some of the combined benefits included in many supplemental plans. Also, If needed, you can always get great dental plans by themselves for you and your family.
For those with credible coverage, think about this...
With the huge amount of money you can save... and I'm talking about hundreds, even THOUSANDS, of dollars per year in premium... you can have a supplemental plan that will cover that high deductible. It can also give you many extra benefits (dental and vision) for a total premium far less than you would pay for a low deductible plan by itself.
Better coverage - more benefits - lower total premium
Note to you... You can't purchase anything from this page
I'm just showing you these different types of plans as illustration for your understanding only. You can't purchase anything from here, just in case you were wondering. I'm trying to make a point vs offering anything. That will come later (ha!). As always, if you ever have any questions please contact me.
Other examples of supplemental health insurance...
Here are those other examples I spoke of on the previous page. After going through these you should have a pretty good idea of what supplements can do for you and how they can help fill those holes in your Major Medical policy.
Supplemental Inpatient only Plans
*FOUNDATION Signature Series must be attached to a Major Medical plan *
Supplemental Dental Plan
Supplemental Critical Illness Plan Back to Top
These types of plans cover you and your family in the event of an unforeseen illness. Benefits are paid in a lump sum in addition to other benefits you may have.
"Why hasn't my agent told me about supplemental plans?"
A health insurance agent, as with most people, gets "stuck in a groove" or "comfort zone" (been there - done that - got the T-shirt). They've found one or two Major Medical plans in their arsenal that seem to work for MOST people. Most agents feel lucky just to have an appointment AND a signed application when they leave your home. But mostly...
- The agent has trouble “thinking outside the box” to take the next logical step.
- The agent never took the time to learn about these awesome tools... even though their company offers supplemental plans.
- The agent didn't want to seem too “pushy” by offering “extra stuff”. But, many times...
- The agent is just in it to “take the money and run”.
In any case, YOU LOSE!! Back to Top
Remember, all insurance plans being equal, most health insurance agent's first impulse is to sell you the plan that will bring them the highest payout. It's human nature.
Here is how the stacking priority goes for most insurance agents.
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Major Medical or Catastrophic coverage
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Supplemental Health Insurance – to help fill in policy gaps
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Critical Illness Plan – designed to pay you a lump sum should a critical illness happen such as a heart attack, cancer, etc.
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Life Insurance Plan – Term, Whole, or Universal Life... and others
Health insurance supplements are NOT considered “credible coverage” by health insurance companies.
This means if you ever apply for health insurance through a credible company (Major Medical or Catastrophic), you can not list supplemental coverage as your “current insurance provider”. Insurance companies will not consider supplemental plans as such.
A "waiting period"? Back to Top
If you DO apply for health insurance while having a supplemental plan only and are accepted, depending on your State laws regarding health insurance, there CAN be a “waiting period” (6 months, 12 months, etc.) to rule out pre-existing, undiagnosed, conditions.
Many people will try to obtain coverage after they suspect, or discover, they have an illness. A "waiting period" is a way for the health insurance company to cover itself against these contingencies.
Whereas, if you are currently covered by “credible insurance” , and are accepted by a NEW insurance provider, you may not have a waiting period at all for pre-existing conditions.
- As always, see your State Link for YOUR specific insurance laws and requirements, and to make sure ANY plan or company is allowed to conduct business in your State.
- Go in to your State Dept. of Insurance link for their definition of “pre-existing condition” and “waiting periods”.
- Check the web site of any supplemental plan company for any State exclusions. Not all supplemental plan companies, as with insurance companies, are allowed in every state. Not all States have the same coverage any ANY particular supplemental plan.
Supplemental carrier websites SHOULD list any individual State or coverage exclusions. Each State is governed by it's OWN Division of Insurance and laws.
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