meggoleggo, Aflac even has a policy plan we have nicknamed "SHAB" (acronym for "She's Having A Baby") that will specifically pay benefits for childbirth. The payouts average in the thousands... like $4000-$5000... just for the event, plus, if done through a payroll group you can also get monthly disability paid in the case of a c-section or other complications that keep you from work. We really are a different kind of insurance company. We actually tell people to make claims all the time. Our thoughts are, if you're paying for the policy, use it! We also NEVER raise rates, even if you make claims. You are locked-in for life.
My wife and I might have to revisit Aflac. She had it through her employer but we canceled cause I just didn't think we'd need it and we were trying to save money. But if they offer benefits for childbirth that could definitely come in handy down the line when we decide to have another one...especially since she's with Humana! How can it be that easy though?
It is specifically designed to supplement your INCOME... it is not major medical... We are here for YOU.... Check out http://www.aflac.com/us/en/aflacts.aspx -were you aware that all insurance companies have the option to pay out on childbirth, but most don't, even though it falls under illness or sickness? I can send you out a flier and some brochures of the "SHAB" if you'd like. Just want to add this... We are all independent agents... so please come through me if you need a policy... It's 100% commission. Thanks!
I was gonna into medical claims processing. I still might. What I do now 20% relates. Seeing what all goes into it, processing is simpler than in decades past with digital filing and coding, but its still a mess. It becomes an interpretation thing between the facility and the billing department, and, ugh...deny-process-deny-process, calls, code. I have Aflac. Never had to use it and dont quite like paying into supplemental coverage, would rather just put the extra cost to boost up my regular insurance plan. But the immediacy and accessibility of it keeps me in.
Are the UHC plans different for different companies? Looks like for me the maternity cost is 300 in patient stay and 300 for out patient surgery. Which looks pretty good.
I see this all the time. We have actually found that raising the deductible on your major med (although it seems counter intuitive) to lower your monthly premiums on major med doesn't hurt in the long run when you have Aflac... precisely because we pay most claims within 3 days of receipt of the claim. So whatever deductibles you have, in many cases Aflac will pay near if not all of the out of pocket expenses back to you. A 3 day claim paid out, get s to your hand in 7 to 10 business days depending on the speed of the mail that week. As you put it, "the immediacy and accessibility of it" is precisely why we ONLY focus on supplemental health coverage. Since 1955 that's all Aflac does. Out of the top 200 Health insurance providers in the nation, Aflac -only providing supplemental, mind you - is # 3 overall. We are # 1 in our category, with spots 2 through 10 not even equaling our client base or our payouts. We have top tier financial ratings which allow us to pay all claims "positive pay." That means you'll never have an issue getting your money in hand. And thanks, Shroopy2, for you input. In all honesty, if I had to choose between Aflac and major med, I'd dump some major med myself... but I've seen it work from both sides. We have a wide range of plans from the accident coverage most "know" us for, to Cancer Indemnity (you can get up to $10,000 just for being diagnosed with cancer, $3000 for initial treatment, and so on... with no maximums on chemo, or radiation benefits... we even pay the donor if you need a bone marrow transplant). I know no one likes to think of supplemental as a necessity, but think of this.. Can you afford to pay 20-40% of an accident? Maybe. How about 20-40% of a stroke? Cancer? Heart attack? Even with major medical there are gaps that are not covered. That's why you should always keep Aflac around. Some of our plans even have provisions built in that if you end up unable to pay for your premiums due to an illness, they will keep the policy in place to benefit you so you and your family don't have to lose your livelihood on top of facing an illness or accident recovery time. That's why I am an Aflac agent. We stand by our promises! I can live with that. Look us up, everyone!
I know what happened too. Cause I'm a savy person, I knew someone f-ed up in the claim. Turns out, they left off a digit on the procedure code so the code was invalid and the insurance company didn't pay. but it seems it happens way too much. I mean, seriously, I know human error happens, but they hire a bunch of idiots doing this stuff. on top of that my insurance are idiots for putting two addresses on the back of my card, guess what? i get a bunch of messed up claims cause they sent it to the wrong address. I'm not going to complain too much cause i'm not getting screwed over like Batman, but I'm not happy .
So how does that work? I have UHC through work, then I buy aflac myself? How much are the monthly rates generally?
On the grounds that they arbitrarily don't approve walking boots unless they are custom made to fit the foot. So the doctor gives me a walking boot off the shelf, the insurance company tells me I'm supposed to pay for it and then I'm supposed to argue with both of them. The system is ****ed and Humana is an especially ****ed company. On the rehab visits, there is an arbitrary cap of 25 per year on my plan. That means that even though I'm paying the max pay-out under my plan for my injury (max co-pay plus additional costs) and even though my doctors tell me I need therapy three times a week until I can put pressure on it and then obviously a lot more after, I will run out at the time I can put pressure on it and then I will be on my own. All hail the superior American health care system! I pay every damn week for my insurance out of my check. Then I pay the max co-pay PLUS. Then I pay between $5-55 per prescription (times dozens). Then I pay $25/doctor visit. Then they tell me to buy my own boot and pay for my own rehab. WTF.
p.s. to George: It's not actually "my" claim. I go to the doctor, the doctor tells me what to do and I do it. And then the insurance company tells me they're rejecting "my" claim. ****ed.
I'm sorry to hear that, Batman. It's unbelievable! I'm interested to hear this too...I had UHC but the company changed to CIGNA. Anyone have problems with CIGNA? I haven't had any problems so far.
Try getting a custom made boot. What did your Dr. say about the 25 limit? Might be better to drop it to twice per week so it lasts longer into the rehab.
medicare only pays 1800 bucks for physical therapy per year. I dunno how much yours cost per session but you can do the math.
While we're on the subject, I'm having a really hard time trying to figure out which insurance plan sucks less - BlueCross PPO or CIGNA HMO (those are the two choices I have). I switched to the PPO a couple of years ago because I thought an HMO would suck if I ever needed real healthcare (I've lived in this country for 10 years and I've never been hospitalized in that time, been to see the doctor maybe 2 or 3 times). Well I hurt my back a few weeks ago, wanted to go see the doctor for advice and was mortified when I found out that it was going to cost me nearly $400 out of pocket. In the end a doctor friend of my dad's told me all I needed to do was take lots of advil until the pain went away. $400 so that a doctor can tell me to take extra dosages of Advil? WTF? Now I'm thinking of going back to the HMO, but stories like Batman's are exactly what scares me about them. Does CIGNA do much better by their customers than Humana does?
