Supplemental Health Insurance Archives

Voluntary Benefits in the Post Healthcare Reform Environment

This blog post is about “voluntary benefits” and how they are poised to see significant growth in the post-healthcare reform environment. If you’ve been following along here at our blog, you’ll know that we’ve discussed the definition of voluntary benefits in the past. We’ve referred to these benefits as “supplemental health insurance.”

As we move forward with this concept, keep in mind that you may see this specific category of benefit worded in three ways:

Voluntary Benefits (the verbiage we’re using in this blog post).
Supplemental Health Insurance (verbiage we’ve used in the past).
Ancillary Benefits (or: benefits that support existing benefits).

The above listed could all be considered “voluntary benefits.” Each are composed of a variety of different important products when designing employer health programs.

The big question: What are voluntary benefits?

Answer: voluntary benefits are exactly what they say they are. They are products that employees voluntarily participate in at work. In other words, employees typically pay for voluntary plans with their own money. The employer usually does not make a contribution.

The next big question: What types of plans are available voluntarily?

Answer: there are a number of different plans that are available on a voluntary basis. Listed below are a few of them.

Supplemental Health Insurance: Accident Plans, Cancer Plans, Hospital Plans
Ancillary Benefits: Vision, Dental, Life Insurance, Disability Insurance
Specialty Benefits: Pet Insurance, Legal Counsel, Law/Litigation Insurance

The last big question: Why are these types of plans poised to grow significantly?

Answer: there are two big reasons why voluntary benefits are poised to grow significantly in the post-healthcare reform environment.

It’s expected that there will continue to be increased exposure to “out of pocket expenses” and “cost sharing.” In other words, deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance will all continue to be common. And most likely, these types of out of pocket expenses will continue to increase over time. Voluntary benefits can help reduce exposure to these kinds of expenses. Read more here.
Government money is now helping to pay for a considerable number of new health insurance plans. This is especially true for small businesses (under 50 employees). With the integration of the new health insurance exchanges into the insurance marketplace, the federal government is now helping millions of new people pay their premiums in the form of tax subsides. What does this do? It frees up money for products like voluntary benefits.

As you can see, voluntary benefits will be a very important component in the post-healthcare reform environment. According to a recent study by Met Life, 51% of employees are willing to bear more of their benefits costs in order to have better choices, and 58% of employers say providing voluntary benefits will be significant to their benefits strategy in the coming years.

Policy Advantage Insurance Services provides a broad range of voluntary and ancillary products. If you have questions, please contact us, and we can evaluate your situation (as a business or individual) to see exactly where these benefits can fit it, and how they can help. Continue to look for additional posts on this topic.

Thanks for stopping by, we hope you found our information to be valuable. Check back at our blog to get further information about funding healthcare. Also, please share with your friends, clients, colleagues, and family. Here are a few of our other information outlets:

Home Page: https://policyadvantage.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PolicyAdvantage

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PolicyAdvantage

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PolicyAdvantage

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/PolicyAdvantage

Word Press: http://www.policyadvantage.wordpress.com

Phrases Made Easy: “Indemnity Insurance Policy”

May 13, 2013/in Employer Info, General Benefits Info, Phrases Made Easy /by PolicyAdvantage

Welcome back to another addition of “Phrases Made Easy” at our blog. Our goal with this blog series is to take all of those confusing and complicated insurance words, and make them easier for you to understand. At Policy Advantage Insurance Services, we feel that informed consumers can make a really big difference in our industry.

Today’s phrase is “Indemnity Insurance Policy.” The words “Insurance Policy” are easy to understand, but it’s the word “Indemnity” that has a tendency to hang people up. You’ll see it in many different insurance products; that’s one of the reasons we’ve selected this phrase. And we’ve got good news for you: this phrase is really simple.

So here we go. Here’s “Indemnity Insurance Policy” made easy:

An Indemnity Insurance Policy is an insurance policy that pays cash either directly to you (the policyholder), or to the provider (ie: someone like a doctor, dentist, or hospital). That’s all it is. It’s a cash payment from an insurance company.

There are various types of insurance products that function as “Indemnity Insurance Policies.” We won’t list them all, but here are a few of the more common ones:

Dental Insurance: some dental plans will have a value assigned to each procedure. For example, a crown may pay $250. This would be the amount paid to either you, or the dentist.
Supplemental Health Insurance: many supplemental health insurance plans are written as “Indemnity Insurance Policies.” For example, a supplemental cancer plan may pay the policyholder $300 per day that they’re confined to a hospital in a cancer situation.
“Mini-Med” or Hospital Indemnity Insurance: these are insurance plans that are not comprehensive major medical plans (ie: an HMO or PPO). They are plans designed to reimburse the policyholder (or hospital) in the event of a hospitalization. For example, a “Hospital Indemnity Policy” may pay the policyholder $1000 per day that they are confined to a hospital. This money can help offset some of the expenses associated with a hospital stay.

Here are a few additional important notes about “Indemnity Insurance Policies”:

In most cases, the cash benefit needs to be assigned to either the policyholder or the service provider (ie: the dentist, doctor, hospital, etc).
The cash benefit may pay for all, or only a portion of the bills. For example, some dental indemnity plans may pay the entire bill from the dentist. However, in many cases, a hospital indemnity plan will not cover the entire cost of a hospital stay.
When it comes to indemnity insurance policies, there are typically no networks. This can be especially nice in dental situations, because the policyholder can select any dentist of their choice.

Thanks again for stopping by, we hope you found our information to be valuable. Check back at our blog to get further information about funding healthcare. Also, please share with your friends, clients, colleagues, and family. Here are a few of our other information outlets:

Home Page: https://policyadvantage.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PolicyAdvantage

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PolicyAdvantage

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PolicyAdvantage

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/PolicyAdvantage

Word Press: http://www.policyadvantage.wordpress.com

Phrases Made Easy: “High Deductible Health Plan” (HDHP)

March 11, 2013/in Employer Info, General Benefits Info, Phrases Made Easy /by PolicyAdvantage

Welcome back to another edition of “Phrases Made Easy.” Our intention with this series is to help make all of those long, drawn-out insurance phrases easier for people to understand. One of our biggest goals is to give our clients and potential clients the power to put the things in place that make the most sense. Well-informed consumers can make a big difference.

This post is about High Deductible Health Plans (or HDHPs). We selected this phrase for a few different reasons:

In many cases (but not all), High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) are the cornerstone of Consumer Directed Healthcare.
High Deductible Health Plans are usually used in coordination with HSAs and HRAs.
Consumer Directed Healthcare & High Deductible Health Plans are currently very popular within our industry.

To put the concept in perspective starting off, a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) usually works with other products in a system. Much like systems in a house: you have to have plumbing first to run your sink; you have to have electricity first before you can turn on your TV; and you need to have the walls and windows completed, before you turn on the heater or air conditioner.

EPLemon The visualization mentioned above is similar to the components that work with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). There are four things that usually work in the system:

A High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)
A Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
Supplemental Health Insurance
Tax Incentives (Section 105/106 & 125)

The management and coordination of the above concepts all make up a system that can help people manage their own health services more affordably and efficiently. In most cases, the system we just described is commonly referred to as Consumer Directed Healthcare.

Here are some additional facts about High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs):

Insurance premiums can be most easily controlled by raising or lowering the deductible.
A High Deductible Health Plan can be referred to as a “catastrophic plan” that covers the lion’s share of the bills in the event of a hospitalization. HDHPs also usually have at least one yearly wellness visit.
Cash payments for other services (ie: deductibles, co-insurance, co-pays, physician visits, cash payments for lab work, cash payments for primary care, etc) can be funded w/ tax-advantaged (or sometimes tax-free) arrangements such as HSAs and HRAs. In most cases, unused cash is retained by individuals or employers.
Cash payments through an HSA or HRA encourage providers (doctors, hospitals, and dentists) to be more transparent with their pricing.
Additional concerns (accident, cancer, etc) can be “shored up” with supplemental health insurance plans.
High Deductible Health Plans work very well with the evolving Defined Contribution Healthcare model.

A High Deductible Health Plan was defined in 2013 (for HSA qualification) as a plan with a minimum individual deductible of $1,250/year, and minimum family deductible of $2,500/year. Should you have further questions about how a High Deducible Health Plan might work for you, we encourage you to contact us any time.

Thanks for stopping by, we hope you found our information to be valuable. Check back at our blog to get further information about funding healthcare. Also, please share with your friends, clients, colleagues, and family. Here are a few of our other information outlets:

Home Page: https://policyadvantage.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/policyadvantage

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/policyadvantage

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/policyadvantage

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/policyadvantage

Word Press (you are here): http://www.policyadvantage.wordpress.com

Benefits Chalk Talk: Your Guide to Supplemental Health Insurance

January 7, 2013/in Benefits Chalk Talk, Employer Info /by PolicyAdvantage

An insurance plan that pays you cash when you get sick or hurt, right? You got it. That’s the exact concept behind supplemental health insurance. In this blog article… we’re going to describe supplemental health insurance, talk about the different policies that are available, and explain exactly where it fits in.

Here are some examples of the plans that fit into the category of supplemental health insurance:

Personal Accident Indemnity Plan
Personal Cancer Indemnity Plan
Hospital Protection Plan (cash benefits for hospitalizations)
Specified Health Event/Critical Illness Plan (things like heart attacks & strokes)
Vision, Dental, Short Term Disability, and Life Insurance

As mentioned above, unlike major medical insurance (which pays physicians, surgeons, and hospitals)… supplemental health insurance pays the policyholder a cash benefit to use where they need it the most. Yep, you manage the cash benefit yourself. It’s important to understand that it’s different than health insurance. Here are some examples of the places where people use their cash benefits:

Out of pocket medical expenses: cash benefits from supplemental health insurance can be used to pay for things like deductibles, co-payments, and other out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Rent & mortgage payments: in certain situations where someone is sick or hurt, they may need some additional help w/ maintaining their standard of living. You can use cash benefits to make mortgage and rent payments.
Car/Kids/Gas/Utilities/Groceries: if you’re sick or hurt, these types of things continue to go on. Cash benefits from a supplemental health insurance plan can help assist with these kinds of expenses.
Additional Treatment Options & Travel: in certain situations (ie: cancer situations, severe accidents, etc), a patient may want to travel and/or seek treatment outside of the network. They may want to see a specific surgeon, visit a renowned institution for specialized care, have a specific procedure performed, etc. Cash benefits can help with these kinds of expenses.

Depending on the major medical plan that you have in place, and the standard of living you maintain… as listed above, you can see exactly where supplemental health insurance fits in. It can be a very important component of your overall benefits planning strategy (individual & business).

That covers the basics on the concept of supplemental health insurance. Keep in mind that supplemental health insurance is also typically much more affordable than health insurance. It’s a good idea to educate yourself on it, and understand it. It also fits in with any health insurance plan (some more than others).

Thanks for stopping by, we hope you found our information to be valuable. Check back at our blog to get further information about funding healthcare. Also, please share with your friends, clients, colleagues, and family. Here are a few of our other information outlets:

Home Page: https://policyadvantage.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PolicyAdvantage

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PolicyAdvantage

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PolicyAdvantage

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/PolicyAdvantage

Word Press: http://www.policyadvantage.wordpress.com