Hospital Indemnity Insurance provides you with a cash benefit you can use to help pay expenses when you have a covered hospital stay.

If you’ve ever been hospitalized, then you already know that your medical plan may not pay all of your medical expenses. Whatever remains is what you’ll be expected to pay on your own. Deductibles, copays, out-of-network charges, and other uncovered expenses can add up to big bills, even for a short hospital stay.

• HELPS PROTECT YOUR FINANCES. When you, your spouse or child are facing a hospital stay, you can receive a benefit to help pay unexpected expenses not covered by your plan.
• HELPS COVER RELATED EXPENSES. While health plans may cover direct costs associated with an illness or injury, you can use your hospital indemnity benefits to help cover related expenses like lost income, childcare, deductibles and copays.
• PAYS CASH BENEFITS DIRECTLY TO YOU. Hospital Indemnity insurance payments can be used however you want, and it pays in addition to any other coverage you may already have. Benefits are payable directly to you.

A hospital stay can be costly to your finances in 2 ways:

• Medical bills. After being admitted, you have expenses for each day you’re in the hospital – and even a short stay can end up being costly. In addition to the stay itself, treatments, tests, and surgery can add to the cost.
• Lost wages. Each day in the hospital could mean taking time out of work, or a family member may take time away from their job to help support you. If this impacts the paycheck that your family relies on, you may need to dig into savings or even borrow money. Hospital Indemnity Insurance helps alleviate these worries.  

Since you have the freedom and flexibility to choose how you spend your payout, you can use it to help pay for medical expenses or non-medical expenses. Even use it to help pay regular living expenses such as grocery bills, mortgage payments, childcare, and transportation – all of which could become a concern if you lose income while you’re in the hospital.

Instead of turning to your savings or taking on credit card debt to pay those medical bills, you can use the cash you receive from this plan to help pay them. That means less time spent worrying about money and more time spent focused on getting well again.

These are the periods when you are eligible to enroll for Hospital Indemnity Insurance:

1. Within your new hire enrollment period
2. If you have a qualifying life event (you get married, have a baby, etc.)
3. During your employer’s annual enrollment

Check with your employer’s human resources/benefits team for specifics about these timeframes.

Keep in mind: If you enroll during these timeframes, you have what is called "guaranteed issue," which means you may qualify for coverage without answering health questions. You must have coverage in place before a covered accident or sickness happens in order to be eligible to collect the benefit when you need it.