How is it different?
From the ads, I get the idea that it pays you and not your bills.
Does that mean it’s like one of those “supplimental” insurance plans they’ve had for decades, that really are bad deals because there’s low coverage caps and you could end up destroyed by an illness?
Since this’ll probably be moved to GQ, let me get the MPSIMS answer out of the way:
I think it has something to do with insuring ducks.
Some supplemental policies pay you and some pay the provider. Most providers will have you sign a form stating that any money to be paid on your claim is to be sent to the hospital. If the insurance company pays you instead, the facility will send you the bill and you will be expected to pay it.
Some supplemental policies are good and then there’s AFLAC.
Okay, that wasn’t nice, but I speak from experience. If you should decide to get a supplemental policy, read the fine print. Very carefully. Don’t assume they’ll pay any or all residual amounts left over by your primary insurer.
Some parts of AFLAC are OK. For example, under some plans, they’ll cover some diagnostic screening tests that might not be covered under a primary health insurance plan like Blue Cross and Blue Shield. For example, some health insurance policies won’t cover screening tests like mammography or colonoscopy for patients with no family history or risk factors. AFLAC has provisions to pay for these screenings.
They also offer plans that pay on specific diseases, like cancer, that can cause very high out-of-pocket expenses. In fact, when I worked for MD Anderson, AFLAC was the bane of our existence because patients would come to us for second opinions. The oncologist would do additional tests (not covered by regular health insurance), find that the initial diagnosis was wrong; that the patient had something other than cancer, and that AFLAC would not cover the bills because the patient did not have cancer. Sort of a catch-22. The patient would then be responsible for thousands of dollars in bills.
It’s a good deal for some people, not such a good deal for others.
Robin
So these people who turned out not to have cancer, what happened to them next? They had something else that gave symptoms?
And, the ones without the second opinion, who just went for the cancer treatment, how does that work for them?
Most of them did have something else. A few who had some symptoms consistent with lung cancer turned out to have TB(!); others had other diseases that were not cancer.
Cancer treatment is covered, with or without the second opinion. A lot of the people who came in for second opinion were simply looking for a confirmation of the cancer diagnosis.
Robin
Sorry
My mind shuts done at the mention of Ben Af :o