Supplemental Insurance

Do You Need Supplemental Health Insurance?

by ClaimLinxMay 18, 2022June 7, 20222 Comments

If you already pay for health insurance, the last thing on your mind is that you need supplemental health insurance. However, if you dig through what a traditional plan has to offer, you’ll find that there are a lot of exclusions and gaps in plans, which can lead to high liabilities.

Do You Need Supplemental Health Insurance?

What is Supplemental Health Insurance?

A supplemental policy works alongside your traditional policy to offer enhanced coverage options. For example, your normal policy may have very limited, or no, dental coverage offered.

In this case, you can find a supplemental plan to cover these additional costs.

However, these plans can protect against financial burdens that many health insurance plans put on policyholders, including:

Deductibles for hospital care
Dental coverage
Eye coverage

You’ll also find some of these plans are for specific conditions and diseases, such as cancer screenings. There are also options for things, such as pregnancy, so the plan would cover things, such as the birth of the baby and prenatal care.

Supplemental Insurance Cost Basics

Supplemental health insurance is an additional insurance, on top of your standard coverage, and it’s 100% separate. You can add or remove the plan at any time, and this means that it will come at an additional cost to you.

The plan’s price can be drastically different.

You might find a plan to cover eye care that is $10 and one for cancer that is $500. Age is also a major factor in calculating a plan’s premiums. The older you are, the higher the cost will be for your premiums.

These plans have monthly premiums, but they also have standard costs, which may include:

Copay
Deductible
Coinsurance

It’s crucial for you to analyze each plan to best understand the costs involved and what your true, monetary obligations are under the plan.

Types of Insurance Plans Available

Supplemental plans vary drastically, but you’ll find plans for numerous, specific circumstances. A few of the most common types of plans and when they’re ideal, include:

Hospital insurance, which is designed to cover the costs for people with ongoing medical issues that need to go to the hospital often
Critical illness insurance, which is designed for anyone with a specific, high-risk illness
Long-term care, ideal for anyone that is aging and fearful that they will need long-term care
Accident insurance, a type of plan that is designed for athletes or entertainers in the event that they have an injury

You can also find vision, dental and orthodontic plans, often sold as add-ons to your policy, and these plans may be combined or separate. Since everyone is different and has their own set of medical concerns and/or risks for certain conditions, it’s crucial to sit down with a professional to ensure that you have supplemental plans that offer you maximum coverage.

Supplemental health insurance plans offer you peace of mind that if you need to go to the hospital or have a critical illness, your medical bills will be covered. If you feel that your regular policy doesn’t provide adequate coverage, consider one of these plans.

What Is Principal Dental Insurance?

by ClaimLinxOctober 20, 2021October 29, 2021Leave a comment

Principal Dental insurance plans offer enrollees the opportunity to join an employer’s group dental coverage. In addition, employers can choose to customize their dental coverage to fit in their annual budgets.

What Is Principal Dental Insurance?

As a group dental insurance provider, Principal allows businesses to:

Pay for the entirety of their employees’ insurance
Cover just part of the insurance premiums
Cover none of the insurance premiums

Nationally, 50% of dentate individuals between 18 and 64 had some level of dental insurance in the past 12 months. As the job market remains highly competitive, employers that offer group dental insurance improve their odds of hiring top-tier talent.

Principal Dental offers:

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO)

Depending on the state, various options may be available.

Customizable Options for Businesses

Group dental insurance plans have numerous customizable options that influence the business’ expenditures and bottom line. When determining the right choice for your business, you’ll need to customize:

Coinsurance
Deductibles
Options

Businesses can alter the deductible of the employee to match the financial constraints of the business. Higher deductibles for employees mean lower expenses for the company. Management must sit down and come up with a custom plan that maximizes the group dental benefits offered while also remaining within the business’ overall budget.

Principal Dental has an annual maximum refreshment as well as deductibles being waived under certain conditions. Employees also gain access to a mobile app that outlines their benefits and makes it easy to obtain ID cards.

How Group Dental Plans Work with Principal Dental Insurance

Principal Dental follows a standard, three-category system for dental services:

Preventative. Routine exams and cleanings are part of the preventative care offered through Principal Dental and are 100% covered through insurance.
Basic. Cavities that require fillings would fall under the basic care category, where 80% of the cost is covered by insurance and 20% by the employee or employer.
Major. A major procedure, such as a dental bridge or root canal, will have some costs covered by insurance and the rest an out-of-pocket expense for the employee.

Employees will receive a comprehensive list of procedures that are covered through their insurance and which are not. Transparency allows employees to opt into group plans with confidence that the procedures they need the most will be covered as long as they’re listed.

When employers offer group dental insurance through Principal, they’re joining a massive network of nationwide dental providers that their employees can leverage to maintain optimal dental health.

In-network and non-network coverage options are offered, and out-of-network deductibles are combined to quickly help employees meet their deductible limit.

Principal empowers employees to recommend their own dentist for inclusion in the network. If an employee is happy with their own dentist, the ability to continue using the same dentist is crucial.

At ClaimLinx, our consultants can help business owners find group dental insurance that meets the needs of their organization.

Small and large businesses that offer group dental insurance can increase applicants for a position, improve employee satisfaction and boost employee retainment through insurance options.

Is Medicare Supplement Insurance Right For You?

by ClaimLinxOctober 10, 2021October 29, 20211 Comment

Medicare is available for people who are 65 or older or individuals that suffer from disabilities. Original Medicare, which is more of a basic form of the program, provides just the most basic form of coverage.

While original Medicare covers most of your medical and hospital bills, you’ll still have to pay for 20% of approved doctor treatments.

If you’re in the hospital for even three days, the cost of the hospital stay can be as much as $60,000. Paying 20% of these costs still leaves you with a $12,000 bill that you need to pay.

Medicare supplement insurance can help.

What is Medicare Supplement Insurance?

Supplement insurance, or Medigap insurance, is just like it sounds: insurance that fills in the gaps. For example, in the scenario above, this type of insurance would kick in and cover the $12,000 that original Medicare doesn’t cover.

Roughly 24% of all beneficiaries on Medicare purchase Medicare supplement Insurance

What’s Included in Medicare Part A and B?

If you’re on original Medicare, this means that you’re on both Medicare Part A and Part B. Medicare Part B covers about 80% of the costs for approved:

Doctor services
Medical equipment
Outpatient therapy

On top of the 20% of the costs, you’ll be required to pay a deductible of just over $200 in 2021. While you may not pay for Medicare Part A, you will be responsible for paying for Part B if you want this additional coverage.

Supplement insurance is sold through private insurance companies and will offer additional coverage, such as:

Costs of doctor visits
Services rendered outside of the US

Insurance companies cannot disqualify you from these programs based on preexisting conditions either.

Cost of Medicare Supplement Insurance

Is this type of insurance worthwhile for you? It depends. You’ll be required to pay additional money to these programs, and they can be very expensive. While the average person paid $152 per month for supplemental insurance in 2018, prices may be much higher for the individual.

Depending on multiple factors, the cost of these plans can range from $50 to $650. Factors that contribute to the overall cost are:

Age
Location
Deductible

However, some individuals may benefit from state programs that offer to pay for some or all of these costs.

Often, low-income individuals will qualify for state assistance, so they’ll benefit from low or no cost for their supplemental insurance. Additionally, there may be options to help cover the cost of prescription medications, too.

When considering whether signing up for one of these programs is the right thing to do, it’s important to note that Original Medicare does not have a limit on out-of-pocket expenses. So, you’ll continue to pay 20% out-of-pocket whether the bill is $200 or $2 million.

There are options outside of Medigap, such as Medicare Advantage plans that will roll Part A and B into one plan as well as offer prescriptions for free.

Medicare supplement insurance is often a good choice if you don’t have coverage through a union or employer and you’re enrolled in Original Medicare.

Is supplemental coverage right for your company?

by ClaimLinxNovember 2, 20181 Comment

Open enrollment has almost arrived, and for most companies that means taking a look at their coverage options. There is one extra question every company should be asking themselves this year: should I be adding supplemental insurance to my benefit plan?

Supplemental insurance is extra or additional insurance you can purchase to help pay for services and out-of-pocket expenses that regular insurance does not cover. Some plans reimburse for expenses incurred, while others pay specific amounts regardless of how much you have paid out-of-pocket. So many people with these policies even get a little extra cash in their pocket in addition to their services paid for.

Examples of policies are Critical Illness, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, Dental, Vision, Life, Accident and more.

We recommend to all of our clients that they add supplemental insurance to ensure employees are truly taken care of in their time of need. Supplemental plans are typically inexpensive and pay quickly so employees can start using the funds to pay incurred medical bills, seek additional treatment or supplement lost income as a result of injury or sickness.

They can also be a great employee recruiting and/or retention tool. In a competitive job market, benefits can be one of the biggest reason an employee chooses to stay at or join your company. Supplemental benefits are not offered by all employers, though they are easy to set up and require little administration from an employer.

One of the best parts about ClaimLinx’s Simple Option Solution is that it creates savings, which companies can use for any number of improvements. It’s a great opportunity to add these policies at no additional cost overall to the company. Employers can select plans for employees or offer employees a monthly dollar amount so they can choose the plans that fit their needs.

These plans pay employees when they need it most. Catastrophic incidents can leave families with thousands of dollars in bills, even with a good insurance plan. Using savings to buy these plans shelters employees from this problem at no additional cost to you.

We tell clients to think of their overall health plan like raising a roof. The major medical plan is the frame that holds it all together. The Section 105 MERP is the outer layer of shingles that prevents leaks and is the part people experience day to day. Supplemental plans are the insulation that keep people protected, warm and comfortable.

Contact sales@claimlinx.com if you’re an employer looking to explore adding supplemental insurance to your plan. Or visit www.claimlinxmarketplace.com to see your options for a supplemental plan.

Explore dental coverage for oral health month

by ClaimLinxJune 29, 2018June 29, 20181 Comment

When it comes to dental hygiene and overall oral health, there is nothing more important than regular checkups with a dentist, but without dental coverage affording consistent preventative visits can be a struggle.

June is oral health month, the perfect time for business owners to look at their dental coverage and evaluate if they are offering employees all the benefits they need to remain healthy.

Employers can add dental coverage to their plan at any time during the year; they do not need to wait for their health plan renewal. ClaimLinx will consult with any client on the best option to fit a company’s needs and budget.

One option is to set up a traditional supplemental insurance policy for dental coverage through a major carrier, such as Guardian, Aflac, National General, Delta Dental and more. Another is to use ClaimLinx’s third party administrator services to set up a self-funded dental plan in which employees are reimbursed for qualifying expenses.

The American Dental Association recommends people brush their teeth at least twice per day, floss at least once per day and visit the dentist twice per year for a cleaning and checkup.

Twice annual visits are especially important, because they keep oral health costs low by treating an issue before it escalates. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on preventative care, a person can save between $8-$50 in restorative and emergency treatments, according to a study at the University of Illinois.

But many Americans are forced to put off these visits or early treatment because of out-of-pocket costs or because they do not have dental coverage at all. The same study estimates 1 in 4 American adults have untreated tooth decay.

Offering dental benefits can often be a simple and relatively inexpensive way to improve overall health coverage, which gives employees the peace of mind and fiscal confidence to continue consistent checkups. It is the best way to ensure one of your employees does not become one of the 36% of American adults that has gone more than one year without a dental checkup, according to the Center for Disease Control.

Contact sales@claimlinx.com if you would like to start a conversation about your company’s dental coverage.