Merritt Personal Lines Manual: Health Insurance: COBRA, Cancer and Other Specialized Policies Introduction

In the heated debate between managed care and traditional indemnity insurance, some smaller but equally important health coverage issues are lost. These smaller issues are often related to specialty health insurance policies -- matters which are not broad enough to become political debates...but which can be devastating when they impact an individual person or family.

In this chapter, we will consider how some of these smaller coverages work. We'll also take a quick look at the financial and medical factors which impact their coverage.

If insurance companies consider your client uninsurable due to her health or medical history or if your client is interested in more than just your typical medical and hospitalization coverage, you might want to explore the options of other, less commonly used forms of health-related benefits or policies.

Some people opt to purchase alternative coverages -- on a stand-alone basis or combined with each other -- such as dental coverage, vision coverage, a separate prescription plan or even long-term care coverage. Of course, some of these people look for the coverage precisely because they suspect they will have a particular kind of need.

On the other hand, some people choose these coverages for financial reasons: Because their employers offer the insurance for free...or for a discounted fee via a tax-advantaged "cafeteria plan."

Whatever the reason people choose specialty coverages, the plans will likely grow in importance as technology and financial sophistication advance. Some risk experts in the insurance industry predict that soon "health insurance" will be a collection of specilty coverages for specific diseases and conditions. This would allow maximum flexibility for the policyholder -- and maximum precision for the insurance company.

In the meantime, specialty coverages remain...a specialty. But one that's worth considering in detail.