How Ansel Helps with COVID-19

COVID-19 reveals why everyone needs supplemental insurance. Over the past few months, we’ve seen COVID-19 send thousands of Americans to the hospital, and many are worried about how they’ll pay for the care they received. In fact, medical worker, Derrick Smith, shared the story of a patient who used his last breaths before being put on a ventilator to ask his wife how they’d pay for his care—a concern no one should have while struggling to breathe.

A few major health insurers have temporarily waived cost-sharing for COVID-related treatment, and the CARES Act has made screenings free, but the financial damage remains to be seen. With 45% of employees on health plans with $2000+ deductibles, out-of-pocket costs could be substantial.

This crisis highlights the reality of financial hardship that too often comes with unexpected medical issues. To address this, we’ve built a new, comprehensive, supplemental insurance plan to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses that health insurance doesn’t cover.

What’s wrong with today’s supplemental plans?

Supplemental plans were designed in the 1980’s to cover narrow groups of conditions like critical illness, accidents, or cancer so you’d have coverage if your health insurance reached its annual max.

But today’s health plans don’t have annual limits. Today we have high deductibles, which leaves families with health insurance exposed to big medical bills for things like pneumonia, appendicitis, or a broken wrist, before their health insurance ever kicks in.

If you have a supplemental plan today, chances are COVID-19 wasn’t around when you enrolled, so it may not be covered. Insurers won’t have an opportunity to add coverage until the next enrollment cycle. Meanwhile, the virus can trigger a wide range of complications that may or may not qualify for coverage.

Plus, many legacy supplemental plans rely on outdated rules and technology, so members have to track down paperwork and fax in complicated forms to submit a claim. Then they wait for weeks, and their claims are frequently denied.

Ansel is one simple benefit that pays when it counts

Ansel is a modern, comprehensive supplemental benefit that pays cash in hours, not weeks, if you’re diagnosed with any of 13,000+ covered conditions. Members can customize their Ansel plan to get coverage that compliments their health insurance and supports their health needs, including chronic conditions and mental health.

So how does Ansel cover a disease like COVID-19?

While COVID-19 is not a covered diagnosis, Ansel covers many of the most severe complications of the disease including, pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, sepsis, certain heart issues, and kidney issues. There’s no supplemental plan on the market today that covers such a wide range of conditions.

When we designed the Ansel plan for comprehensive coverage, we never imagined our strategy would position us to cover the effects of a disease that didn’t even exist yet. But we’re so glad it does! This is exactly why we built Ansel.

Health hardship shouldn’t mean financial hardship

Derrick Smith’s story went viral because we are all grappling with the reality that too many American families are facing financial hardship because of unexpected health issues. Ansel exists to change this.

We are looking forward to working with brokers and employers to make comprehensive, supplemental benefits available to teams starting this summer in Texas. We know brokers are looking for better benefit solutions, and employers want to provide competitive benefits that truly cover their employees and their families. If that’s you, get in touch!