The holidays are over, and open enrollment season has wrapped up. Employees have selected their major medical plans, and 2022 is off to a great start. But do they really have all the coverage they need to fill in the gaps in case they get sick or injured?
Major medical plans don’t cover everything
When an employee comes down with a major illness or suffers a serious accident, they typically spend time at home or in the hospital, and away from work. Once they’re back on their feet and back to work, their medical bills start arriving, and they can be quite a shock. Patients are typically on the hook for their annual deductible and other non-medical expenses they incurred, like extra help around the house, with children or with pets, travel expenses and more. On top of that, they may have lost income while away from work.
These bills, plus the normal rotation of a mortgage, utility bills, and more can start to feel overwhelming, especially if there is little in the savings account. The good news is supplemental insurance can help in situations just like these and Combined makes it easy for employers to offer it as voluntary benefits to their employees. With open enrollment over, now is the perfect time to plan for what might happen in the year ahead and ensure your employees’ lifestyles are maintained in the event of an injury or illness.
Supplemental insurance: Protection for the unexpected
Consider these statistics:
The typical length of a hospital stay is 4.5 days—and costs over $10,000[6]
Choices for employees
Not sure where to start? Here are some things to consider:
We have flexible, customizable solutions for your employees, and we can help with payroll deductions, communications and enrollment.
Take a look at our line of supplemental insurance products today. To request a virtual or in-person consultation from one of our agents, visit us here.
Sources:
1- DeSilver, D. (2020, July 27). As coronavirus spreads, which U.S. workers have paid sick leave – and which don't? Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/12/as-coronavirus-spreads-which-u-s-workers-have-paid-sick-leave-and-which-dont/
2- Hospital and surgery costs – paying for medical treatment. (2021, October 12). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.debt.org/medical/hospital-surgery-costs/#:~:text=Hospital%20costs%20averaged%20%242%2C607%20per,(%243%2C271)%20for%20most%20expensive.
3- Cancer statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics#:~:text=Approximately%2039.5%25%20of%20men%20and,will%20die%20of%20the%20disease.
4- Banegas, M., Guy, G., De Moor, J., Ekwueme, D., Virgo, K., Kent, E., . . . Yabroff, K. (2016, January). For working-age cancer survivors, medical debt and bankruptcy create financial hardships. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6057727/#:~:text=A%20recent%20population%2Dbased%20study,medical%20bills%20related%20to%20their
5- FastStats - emergency department visits. (2021, October 14). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/emergency-department.htm
6- Decreasing patient length of stay (LOS) to Lower Hais. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://centrak.com/blog-decreasing-patient-length-of-stay/#:~:text=The%20average%20length%20of%20stay,cost%20of%20%2410%2C400%20per%20day.