Critical Illness
Have you ever known anyone who has experienced a critical illness such as cancer, stroke, or heart attack? If you’re like most people, the answer is a definite yes. Chances are you don’t know the financial hardships these illnesses present. The truth is many times these life events leave the ones experiencing them and their loved ones in financial hardship for quite some time. Many people assume they’re fully protected with a standard health insurance plan, but the exorbitant costs of treating life-threatening illnesses are usually more than any plan will cover. Having a Critical Illness policy will help strengthen the barrier against financial ruin and offer the patient and his loved ones additional peace of mind.
It’s important to note that Critical Illness insurance is a supplemental coverage, and not intended to replace your primary health coverage, such as Medicare, Medicare Advantage or any exchanged based or employer provided health insurance. Accident insurance works in tandem with those different types of coverage.
Like most other supplemental plans, the benefit is paid directly to the owner of the policy, not a health care provider. Benefits can be as small as a few thousand dollars to larger amounts such as $100,000. The higher the benefit, the higher the premium.
There are 36 illnesses that coverage could include as benefit payable events. It’s very important to know that not all policies cover all these illnesses. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT to check your policy to see which ones are and are not covered. (if you do a comparison when you get a quote, this question will be answered for you. These 36 illnesses are:
- 1. Heart Attack
- 2. Heart valve replacement due to defects or abnormalities
- 3. Coronary artery diseases requiring a bypass or other surgery
- 4. Aorta surgery via thoracotomy or laparotomy
- 5. Stroke
- 6. Cancer
- 7. Kidney failure
- 8. Fulminant viral Hepatitis or massive necrosis of liver caused by a virus which can lead to liver failure
- 9. Major organ transplant including Kidney, Lungs, Liver, Heart and Bone marrow
- 10. Paralysis or Paraplegia including the complete and permanent loss of one or all the limbs
- 11. Multiple sclerosis
- 12. Primary pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
- 13. Total and/or permanent blindness
- 14. Total and/or permanent deafness
- 15. Total and/or permanent loss of speech
- 16. Alzheimer’s disease or other degenerative brain disorder
- 17. Parkinson’s disease
- 18. Coma
- 19. Third-degree burns covering at least 20% of the surface area of the body
- 20. Terminal illness
- 21. Motor neuron disease
- 22. Chronic liver disease
- 23. Chronic lung disease
- 24. Major head trauma
- 25. Anaemia due to chronic persistent bone marrow failure
- 26. Muscular dystrophy
- 27. Benign brain tumor
- 28. Encephalitis
- 29. Poliomyelitis
- 30. Paralysis or Paraplegia including the complete and permanent loss of one or all the limbs
- 31. Brain surgery (Craniotomy)
- 32. Other serious coronary heart diseases caused due to narrowing of the lumen of the three major arteries- the Circumflex, right coronary artery (RCA), and Left Anterior Descending Artery (LAD).
- 33. Apallic syndrome or the Universal necrosis of the brain cortex
- 34. AIDS contracted by medical staff, in case it is caused due to injury or exposure to contaminated blood
- 35. AIDS due to blood transfusion in case the victim has contracted it due to receiving infected blood.
- 36. Full-blown AIDS
For People on Medicare and Medicare Advantage, Critical illness does supplement your health coverage. HOWEVER, be very sure to look for coverage that doesn’t end at a certain age, or limits benefits as you get to a certain age. The term to look for when comparing is “age reduction schedule.”
If you have additional questions, schedule a call or email your Medquote Medicare Expert and ask if critical illness insurance is right for you.