Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has introduced a new accident supplement and critical illness plan in Colorado called Balance, underwritten by Madison national Life Insurance Company, Inc. Balance has four coverage levels available, with accident and critical illness benefits ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. In addition to those benefits, all four coverage options include $150 per day for each day of hospitalization due to a covered accident – up to 30 days – and up to 12 months of disability insurance ($1,000 per month, 90 day elimination period) if the disability is due to an accident.
The monthly pricing on a Balance membership varies from $34.95 to $64.95 for a single individual, and from $51.95 to $109.95 for a family plan.
Balance can be purchased on its own, or together with an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan. It’s designed to be a supplement (ie, it’s not a health insurance policy), so we wouldn’t recommended it alone. But purchased in conjunction with a health insurance policy, it can help you cover your out of pocket expenses if you’re hurt in an accident or if you suffer from one of the covered critical illnesses (life threatening cancer, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, coronary artery bypass, coma, loss of vision, speech or hearing, paralysis, major organ transplant and severe burn).
For individuals and families who are healthy and rarely need their health insurance benefits, an accident may be their primary concern. Obviously we’re all susceptible to illness aswell, but accidents have a more “out of the blue” quality to them, and can happen to even the healthiest of people. We’ve never needed our health insurance due to illness, but we’ve had a few injuries over the years that have been pretty costly. Stitches and x-rays on our son’s finger alone came to $1,400. The charges can add up quickly when you’re in an emergency room, and if you have a high deductible health insurance policy, you’d be responsible for the entire bill for an incident like that. An accident supplement that will cover all or a portion of the deductible can help people feel more at ease with a high deductible (ie, less expensive) health insurance policy.
The accident supplement portion of Balance will coordinate with your health insurance, so it will pay you either your out-of-pocket amount or the Balance benefit maximum, which ever is lower. For example, if your out-of-pocket expenses for an accident – after health insurance has paid its portion – come to $1750 and you have the $2500 benefit Balance plan, you’ll get $1750 in supplemental coverage. But if your out-of-pocket expenses come to $4500, you’ll get the full $2500. The critical illness benefit is a lump-sum payment, but the amount paid depends on the specific diagnosis.
With the introduction of Balance, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has added another solid plan to the options available for individuals and families in Colorado who are looking for an accident and critical illness supplement to go along with their health insurance policy.
