5 Reasons to Add Supplemental Health Insurance in 2022

2021 came to a close with the Great Resignation as employees ditched their jobs at record numbers. About 4.5 million (3% of the US workforce) resigned in November alone— calling it quits due to burnout, financial stress, mental health, and family related challenges that resulted from working from home. 

But what comes next in 2022? Some will call it the Great Reshuffle, where employees will shift into new industries and companies will attempt to woo them to attract new talent. Other employees may be asked to join “Stay Interviews” to communicate to their employer what it’ll take to stick around to help inform employers’ retention efforts during unprecedented turnover. 

Regardless, 2022 will begin with a reckoning for employers— and higher signing bonuses won’t be enough for companies to keep their employees, or attract new ones for that matter. 

Companies need higher organizational resilience—processes and infrastructure to protect employees during unforeseen events, namely sudden health hardships. In 2021, the average American would have had to borrow to cover an unexpected $1000 expense, while the average employee with employer-sponsored, single-only health insurance has a deductible of $1,669. That means far too many health hardships become a financial strain.

Mental health and a sense of safety around physical health challenges, for many people, can be undermined by a lack of financial stability. Recent research showed 86 percent of people with mental health issues and debt say that their debt or financial stress makes their mental health issues worse.  

Companies that want to attract and retain talent need to start thinking about closing the gaps in their health benefits where pressures can mount and damage their workforce productivity.

Ansel’s modern supplemental health insurance plan was designed to alleviate the financial strain of unexpected health issues while strengthening the overall health benefits strategy. It covers 13,000+ injuries and illnesses in one plan and pays cash benefits when employees are diagnosed with conditions from dehydration and cuts with stitches to kidney stones, heart attacks, and cancer. 

Benefit advisors and employers have already taken note and started weaving Ansel’s supplemental solution into their overall health benefits offering. Over the course of 2021, 50% of employers who offered a Ansel plan funded part or all of Ansel premiums. And, importantly, 60% of employees are participating when Ansel is offered. 

Why are these benefit advisors and their employer clients choosing to add Ansel’s supplemental health insurance? Why should you consider it now if you don’t have a supplemental health solution in place? There are lots of reasons, but here are five of the most common—

Painless, paperless implementation and enrollment 

Forget chasing contract signatures. With Ansel, groups enjoy 100% paperless implementation, which means they can go from quote to contract in a single day. Our interactive proposal makes it easy to model different plan design options on the fly and quickly settle on the selections that work best. From there you’re a few clicks away from a signed group application with electronic signatures and instant policy documents..

Plus, enrollment options are flexible. Use our enrollment platform, Ansel Enroll, which offers plan education and personalized recommendations to guide benefit elections. You can also opt to build Ansel into your existing benefits administration platform. We’ll provide an education link and a host of other resources to make sure employees can learn about Ansel and make their elections seamlessly.

Completed claims are paid in 72 hours

With our simplified plan design and online claim form, employees can file a claim in minutes and get paid in hours. Since Ansel benefits are triggered only by a diagnosis, members can file a claim—online or via the Ansel mobile app on their smartphone—as soon as they're diagnosed. No need to wait for a bill or EOB to come in the mail. 

They’ll start by gathering readily available claims evidence such as a discharge summary, a prescription, or a photo of a hospital ID bracelet. Then they’ll log in and file a claim by answering four simple questions explaining what happened. Next, they’ll upload photos of their claim evidence. They’ll  finish by choosing an e-payment option (such as Paypal, Venmo, or direct deposit). They can also elect to receive a paper check if desired. That’s it.

Completed claims are typically paid within 72 hours, and our team will reach out if we need any additional information. 

Greater utilization drives real value

In our sales process, we use data to take the guesswork out of benefit decisions. Because our plan triggers a benefit based only on a diagnosis, we can examine your group’s past medical claims to show how often the group could have utilized Ansel in the previous year. Here’s an example—

Out of a 9,000 employee group with 17,600 total members on their health plan, a little over 12,000 people had medical claims in 2020. We ran these claims through an analysis to look at how we could have helped. The analysis showed that Ansel would have paid 4,250 claims, offered 3,421 members a payout, and covered claims for 1,197 different medical conditions. That’s thousands benefit payments to help ease the financial impact of health hardships

Employer tools that save time and sanity

After our paperless implementation process, employers have on demand access to policy documents, enrollment data, reports, and billing, via our employer portal. That means employers have visibility on their group’s coverage as well as the ability to preview and pay bills online, anywhere, anytime. 

Dedicated concierge support

Our concierge team delivers white-glove service to both members and employers. Employers will work with the same employer services concierge throughout their experience, and members will be assigned a dedicated member services concierge after their first phone call with support during the enrollment and claims process and beyond.

Adding a supplemental health benefit like Ansel that eases the financial strain caused by unexpected health issues is a valuable way you can build more resilience into an organization. And there’s no reason to wait. Health issues will inevitably come, and they won’t wait for the next open enrollment before they add stress and pressure employees’ finances, hampering their productivity. 

Ansel is actively working with brokers and their employer clients on supplemental health insurance as an off-cycle enhancement to group health benefits. Get in touch and one of our experienced sales directors will reach out to answer your questions and get you up to speed.