As brokers and employers know all too well, the cost of employee health benefits is rising, and this frightful trend doesn't show signs of stopping. To cope with rising premiums, health plans have shifted costs to the employee via deductibles, contributing to a nearly 800% rise in the average employee's deductible over the past 25 years. Compare that to only 18% wage growth during the same period, and you can see the crisis that's at a breaking point for American families. It's no wonder interest in supplemental health insurance is growing.
Supplemental health insurance plans exist to help offset the out-of-pocket costs that fall to employees and their families when injuries or illnesses strike. Theoretically, supplementing employee health benefits this way gives employers more flexibility in their health benefits strategy and provides better coverage that can help them attract and retain talented employees.
The problem with today's supplemental health insurance plans
In reality, employees are often disappointed to find that supplemental health insurance plans don't adequately offset their healthcare costs or don’t cover what they expected. Why? Accident plans cover accidents, but not illnesses. Critical Illness plans only cover a small list of the most dangerous or life-threatening conditions— but if an employee gets a serious illness that isn't on the list, it's not covered. And hospital indemnity plans only provide coverage if an employee is admitted to the hospital. These limitations negatively impact the value of these benefits, too often leaving employees and their families in the lurch with medical bills that exceed their savings.
Asking employees to choose between supplemental health insurance plans like accident or critical illness policies forces them to guess which type of health issue they might face in the coming year. No one knows what will happen in the future, and employees shouldn't have to cross their fingers.
On top of this, today’s supplemental health plan options aren’t known for being easy to use. To file a claim, employees are often required to complete long and confusing forms. Meanwhile, employers and brokers struggle to find time to implement and administer multiple plans on top of medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
How we built a better supplemental health insurance plan
We had these issues in mind when we set out to build the best supplemental insurance plan on the market. Here's how we did it.
First, we solved the issue of coverage.
Rather than just covering accidents or hospitalizations, Ansel covers more than 13,000 injuries and illnesses in one simple supplemental health insurance plan. Employees can choose the level of coverage they need to help offset the burden of their health insurance deductible, cost-sharing, and any other expenses that come up on the road to recovery.
Then, we simplified the rules.
Ansel is a guaranteed issue plan with no pre-existing condition exclusions, and we pay benefits based simply on the diagnosis. There are no covered accident or hospitalization requirements. That means employees can access their benefits as soon as a licensed provider diagnoses their condition—not weeks later when a bill or EOB comes in the mail. If it's a covered condition diagnosed by a licensed provider, their Ansel plan will pay. It's that simple.
Next, we used technology to make it easy to file a claim.
Ansel is 100% paperless! Our innovative plan design opened the door for technology to make claims easy. Employees can log in and file a claim by uploading photos of their documents, hospital wristbands, prescriptions—even a photo of their cast straight from their smartphone. They can even do it before they leave the point of care. Plus, our game-changing technology allows us to pay claims within hours— not weeks! Read more about how we made it easy to file a claim.
And we didn't forget about the employer. We made Ansel easy to implement and administer.
We know change is never easy and brokers and employers can't take advantage of a new plan if it's difficult to implement, enroll, and administer. Our process is completely paperless, and employees can enroll on our standalone enrollment platform, which offers the convenience of self-serve enrollment with white-glove support from our Ansel Concierge team. Want to use an existing benefits administration platform? We can support that, too.
Yes, we’re different, and that’s a good thing! But don’t miss the forest for the trees.
Ansel's supplemental health insurance brings peace of mind.
Today, any deductible can feel like a high deductible. With wide-ranging coverage that truly complements their employer-sponsored health insurance, Ansel members can get the healthcare they need with less worry that their savings will be strained by medical bills. With fast financial relief from Ansel, members can focus on their recovery. That means better health, and better health is priceless.
Ansel is now available in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina with more states coming soon. Get in touch to request a quote, kick the tires, and ask all the questions about our supplemental health insurance plan.
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