Steve Sack, Corporate Vice President, Ancillary Sales:
Life can throw a lot at us. And while we can never be fully prepared for what may happen, we can try our best to be financially prepared.
David Warden, Vice President, Head of Ancillary Operations:
That's why we offer three supplemental health products in our insurance portfolio. They can help with the unexpected cost of an accidental injury, critical illness, or hospital stay. You see, medical coverage is important, but it's not always enough.
Scott Bonucchi, Senior Product Development Consultant:
Our supplemental health products include accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance. Each product provides a cash payment to members who experience a qualifying event. They can use the money however they want for out-of-pocket health expenses, mortgage or rent payments, daily living expenses, or anything else that may come up. They get to decide how and when to use their payment.
Minnie Titus-Glover, Director, Claims Operations
Supplemental health insurance works alongside your medical coverage to fill the gaps and provide you with cash in your pocket for unexpected costs. One of our members had accident insurance coverage, and unfortunately, they had an incident where they were shot in the chest. We paid the emergency room benefits, the ICU benefit and confinement. We paid the admission benefit as well as diagnosis, testing and surgery benefits.
We got cash in his pocket, which allowed him to take care of his medical bills, and also shared that it got his life back on track.
Mekeba Mullen, Senior Strategic Product Manager
We know that insurance isn't always easy to follow. Let's go through the details of each of the three products in our supplemental health portfolio to help you understand how it all works. Accident insurance covers injuries like broken bones, dislocations, eye injuries, burns, or concussions. Our plan pays the same amount for both urgent care and emergency rooms so that members can choose where to go.
Minnie Titus-Glover, Director, Claims Operations
Critical illness insurance covers diseases and illness like cancer, heart attack, or stroke. We also offer an optional wellness benefit that pays members for getting a health screening or test.
Maritza Zavala, Unit Manager Specialty Team
Hospital indemnity insurance helps with the unexpected costs of a hospital stay. It pays for a specific amount for each day a covered member is in the hospital, with additional benefits for a hospital admission, intensive care unit admission, and intensive care unit confinement. All three products pay cash directly to members if they experience one of the covered incidents and give members financial relief so they can focus on recovering and healing.
Scott Bonucchi, Senior Product Development Consultant:
Our supplemental health products have been invaluable to our own employees who have impactful stories to share.
Rachel’s Story:
When my son Austin was three years old, he began to get very sick. One night, he was really struggling to breathe and my husband took him to the E.R. There's some sort of mass in his chest. And the doctor said, “I'm so sorry. There's a lot of white blood cells, and this looks like cancer.” The mass in his chest was not a growth of tissue that could be removed.
It was all of his white blood cells, and they had all collected around his airway and his heart. And that is why he was coughing. And that is why his chest hurt. And that is why he could not breathe. Blood transfusions. Surgeries. Sedation. Lumbar punctures. X-rays. We were driving to the hospital all the time, and so that added up really quickly.
But we were able to use the critical illness payment for some of that. Then about a year after Austin finished his treatment, I was diagnosed with intraductal carcinoma, which is a very early type of breast cancer. I had two surgeries, 20 days of radiation, and I was able to use that benefit again.
I think everyone should have supplemental health insurance and maybe you won't need it. And I hope that you don't. But nobody expects these things to happen. I certainly didn't. And I've used it twice now. It's worth it for that extra peace of mind. There's no reason not to have it.
Sarah’s Story:
In 2014, at the age of 31, I was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. I was holding my son. He was taking a nap. And he – as children often do – elbowed me in the chest. And I went, “Oh!” I felt the lump. I did the biopsy, and went back to the doctor's office as she looked at me and she was like, “Well, it is cancer.”
We left the doctor's office and went to my mother's house, and had to sit down with her and tell her that I had cancer. And just to watch her face, right? She was, like, trying to be so strong.
Started chemotherapy. You do six rounds of the really intense chemotherapy drugs, which, that's where I lost all my hair. And I got really, really sick.
Cancer takes over everything. Your whole world stops. And the things that you can normally do, you just kind of take for granted.
At that time, we didn't have supplemental health benefits. We actually didn't offer them. But as soon as we did offer them, I immediately, you know, I knew the benefit in it. So now that I have supplemental health insurance, I like to put on, as I feel a sense of security that I will be able to have the extra funds I need to make it through any kind of diagnosis that could come my way.
There are certain things that you want to have in place for security, and this is definitely one of those products that will be there for you to support you through it, right?
David Warden, Vice President, Head of Ancillary Operations:
We hope we've expressed the value and protection these offerings provide, and how they demonstrate our commitment and dedication to our members.
Scott Bonucchi, Senior Product Development Consultant:
Peace of mind protection.
Rachel
Extra cash when you need it most.
Mekeba Mullen, Senior Strategic Product Manager
Whole person protection.
Steve Sack, Corporate Vice President, Ancillary Sales:
Thank you for taking the time to learn about our supplemental health products.
Rachel, her son Austin, and Sarah are all healthy, happy and cancer free.
