Hospital Indemnity + Medicare Supps?

Notes from Episode 66

Why would you offer HIP with a Medicare Supplement plan?  You wouldn't, but...

I get it.  Medicare supplement Plan F, G, and N pay 100% of Medicare Part A.  Why would you need a HIP plan?

I am not talking about using HIP for a hospitalization benefit; I am talking about using it for the riders, namely cancer.

HIP plans tend to have more relaxed underwriting than stand-alone plans of the same benefit.  Sure, that also results in a lower benefit amount, but when pairing it with a Medicare Supplement, you may not be looking for a higher benefit. 

Example:

3-day hospital stay at $100 a day.  That is the baseline benefit for a lot of HIP plans (or close to that).  Now you can tack on some riders to help give your clients extra coverage.

Look at cancer.  In 2017, the JAMA Oncology division published a study about out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare beneficiaries.  They looked at 1400+ beneficiaries who had MA, Supp, VA, OM, and Medicaid.  The average out-of-pocket was right around $4800.  That was 2017, and I am willing to bet treating cancer has not gotten any less expensive.

Want more info on the above numbers? Here is a link to the study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5441971/

Now take that HIP, do the baseline benefit and cancer rider for $5,000 to $10,000.  You will usually have a fraction of the underwriting of a stand-alone cancer plan and still give your clients a decent benefit amount.

Depending on the concerns of your client, there may be other riders on a HIP that may help them. 

So, take a look at some of the riders, run some quotes, and start telling your clients about these coverage options!