If you were to put ten people in a room at this very minute, chances are very good that at least half of them would have known someone personally that has been affected by cancer. Unfortunately, cancer seems to be everywhere these days. What makes it even harder is the fact that cancer isn’t just one disease. It is a very general term for more than 100 diseases in which the cells in a certain part of the body grow out of control. Cancer can start anywhere in the body and every cancer type has its own certain risk factor.
The good news is you can do things to protect yourself and reduce your risk of getting cancer. Things such as quitting smoking, eating well, limiting your time in the sun, and exercising regularly are just a few of the steps you can take to help yourself. Regular check-ups and early screenings are another way you can catch cancer at it’s earliest stage giving you early treatment when needed the most.
The bad news is that cancer can affect any of us with no warning, family history, or financial status. If you receive a cancer diagnosis, your first concern should be getting proper medical help as soon as possible. Unfortunately, what can also follow is financial hardship. Cancer is one of the most costly medical conditions we can face in our lifetime. If you are 65 or older, your medical coverage is typically covered by Medicare, however, if you are younger, you will typically have coverage privately, through your employer, and through Medicaid. No matter what, you typically will have deductibles, co-insurance, and co-pays that have to be reached before the insurance starts to pay for your medical costs. On top of that, there is a very good chance that you will have to take a temporary leave of absence from work or worse yet, not be able to return to work at all.
Balanced Care works with businesses that want to provide benefits to their employees as well as individuals that do not have coverage through their employers. With premiums increasing each year on health insurance, more and more people are turning to higher deductibles to keep their premiums more budget friendly. Although this does help in keeping the premiums down, it also leaves many people at a great risk because they can’t meet their deductible and/or have to make a decision that may include doing without health insurance at all. Balanced Care has noticed this and made some decisions to give you more options. These options include supplemental plans that can include accident, cancer, and critical illness.
Just last week, I was talking with someone that is self-employed. He has some pre-existing conditions so the last two years, he has had a group plan through his business. This year, the premium jumped so I recommended the NH Health Plan (for individuals that have either been rated with a high premium and/or been declined for an individual health policy). I recommended a plan with a high deductible of $10,000. This plan will cost him $345 a month. With his previous plan, it was going up to $699 a month. I then recommended that he think about a supplemental plan. In this case, I recommded a critical solutions policy which included critical illness (heart disease, cancer, and renal failure). If he was to be diagnosed with any of these three conditions, the plan would pay him $50,000 paid directly to him to use as he wishes. The price of this plan was $69.00 a month. He would now have two plans, more coverage, more protection, and be saving $285.00 a month.
Each year, millions of Americans are diagnosed with Cancer or a Critical Condition. Costs associated with these conditions will include deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, alternative treatments, transportation, and caregiver costs. At Balanced Care, we believe in providing you with options to not only save you money, but make sure that if it happens, you can concentrate on the first thing that comes to your mind – getting well.