With the rising costs of health insurance, many consumers opt for high-deductible health plans to save money on premiums each month. However, the deductible on such plans can often require individuals to pay $1,400 or more annually (sometimes as much as $4,000, depending on the plan) out of pocket, before their plan benefits kick in. 

What happens if they are diagnosed with a serious illness, like cancer, or have a stroke or heart attack, and have major expenses? Time out of work can eat into savings as well. That’s why it’s smart for today’s employees to have both health insurance and critical illness coverage. 

What does a critical illness policy do?

Critical illness insurance pays a lump-sum cash payment directly to the insured employee if diagnosed with a serious illness, such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, brain tumor or paralysis. The employee can use the money however they want – for rent, groceries, out-of-pocket medical costs or even childcare. Additionally, multiple payments can be made over the life of the policy if the employee is diagnosed with more than one covered condition.

Here’s an example

Julie enrolled in health insurance and also purchased critical illness coverage through her employer. When she suffered a heart attack, she needed to take an extended leave of absence to recover. Her health insurance covered medical expenses, such as the emergency room visit, hospital stay and medication – after she met the deductible – and her critical illness insurance helped her pay for the deductible and some other expenses while she was out of work.

A much-needed cash infusion

With critical illness insurance, employees diagnosed with a covered illness can receive a cash benefit to help pay high medical plan deductibles, take care of monthly bills or other expenses, or make up for lost income while they’re unable to work. Even if they don’t use it right away, the combination of medical and critical illness insurance can help provide peace of mind. 

Learn more about Equitable’s critical illness insurance