Home/Cancer, heart attack and stroke
Cancer, heart attack and stroke coverage, plus help with hospital stays.
Even good health insurance or Medicare leaves deductibles, copays and costs it never touches, like driving to treatment or time away from work. These policies pay benefits you can put toward those costs. I explain what each one pays, when it pays and what it will not cover.
Three policies, three different jobs
Cancer insurance
Pays benefits after a covered cancer diagnosis, or for covered treatment, depending on the policy. Some pay a lump sum. Others pay set amounts for specific treatments.
Heart attack and stroke coverage
Often sold as critical illness insurance. It usually pays a lump-sum benefit after a covered heart attack or stroke, and some policies include other conditions as well.
Hospital indemnity insurance
Pays a set amount for a covered hospital admission, or for each day you are in the hospital, depending on the policy.
How the money works
Most of these policies pay benefits directly to you, not to the hospital or the doctor. You decide how to use the money: a deductible, a hospital copay under a Medicare Advantage plan, the mortgage while you recover, or gas and a hotel room when treatment is out of town.
Who tends to look at these policies
- People with a high-deductible health plan
- Medicare Advantage members who want help with hospital copays
- Families with a history of cancer, heart disease or stroke
- Anyone without much savings set aside for a medical emergency
Read the fine print with me
- Waiting periodsMany policies do not pay for a diagnosis made in the first days or months.
- Pre-existing conditionsA policy can exclude conditions you were treated for before it started.
- What triggers a benefitA diagnosis, a hospital admission, or each day in the hospital.
- Age and premium changesWhether the benefit or the premium changes as you get older.
- RenewabilityWhether the company can cancel your policy, or raise premiums for everyone who has it.
Good to know. These are supplemental, limited benefit policies. They are not major medical insurance, and they do not replace your health insurance or Medicare.
Questions about supplemental coverage
Is this the same as health insurance?
No. These are supplemental policies that pay set benefits for specific events, such as a covered diagnosis or hospital stay. They do not replace major medical health insurance or Medicare.
Can I have one of these policies with Medicare?
Yes. Many people on Medicare carry cancer, critical illness or hospital indemnity coverage alongside their Medicare coverage. These policies are not Medicare Supplements, and I will make sure you understand the difference before you apply.
Will a policy pay for cancer I already have?
Usually not. Pre-existing condition rules and waiting periods vary by policy, so we go over them before you apply.
Who receives the benefit?
In most of these policies, benefits are paid to you, the policyholder, and you decide how to use them.
Know what a policy pays before you need it.
Call, or send the form and I will call you back to go through the options and the fine print.
(270) 302-0524Mike’s direct line