The Value of Supplemental Health Insurance
Many organizations offer supplemental health products — such as accident, critical illness, cancer and hospital indemnity insurance — to help offset workers’ rising out-of-pocket medical costs, especially if their medical insurance is a high deductible health plan (HDHP). But supplemental health products have evolved to support more than workers’ finances. Coverage for a wider variety of conditions and screenings for those conditions — such as mental health, infertility, and Parkinson’s Disease — now mean many plans can help protect workers’ mental and physical health, too.
Workers who own supplemental health insurance are 25% more likely to report high overall well-being compared to workers who don’t.
Self-reported financial and emotional wellness are higher among those who own supplemental health insurance than those who don’t. For example, of those who rate their financial and emotional well-being high, 56% and 52% own accident insurance, respectively. That’s compared to just 40% of those with self-reported low emotional health and 37% with low financial health.
As more employers begin to offer supplemental health products and as these products continue to evolve, self-reported physical health may also increase among workers who own supplemental health, especially critical illness insurance. That’s because many critical illness plans have expanded to provide direct benefit payments to workers for a variety of health screenings and preventive care measures.