Are Limited Benefit Plans a Good Deal from USHealth Group?

Sylvia

New Member
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I am considering selling USHealth Group's plans for individuals and the self employed. (Underwritten by Freedom Life). My concern is the quality of the plans because I definitely don't want to hurt anyone. I am the kind of person who will go out of my way to make sure the customer understands the limitiations of a plan.

One plan "acts like" a major med, but it is not. It is simply a bundling of products that covers just about every possible claim scenario. On the surface it looks like a winner.

The other plans, which are guaranteed issue, are indemnity plans but the "gaps" are covered with the other supplemental plans such as critical illness, accident, etc.

Has anyone had experience with these plans and this group?

Thanks!
 
I am considering selling USHealth Group's plans for individuals and the self employed. (Underwritten by Freedom Life). My concern is the quality of the plans because I definitely don't want to hurt anyone. I am the kind of person who will go out of my way to make sure the customer understands the limitiations of a plan.

One plan "acts like" a major med, but it is not. It is simply a bundling of products that covers just about every possible claim scenario. On the surface it looks like a winner.

The other plans, which are guaranteed issue, are indemnity plans but the "gaps" are covered with the other supplemental plans such as critical illness, accident, etc.

Has anyone had experience with these plans and this group?

Thanks!

The "gaps" are covered by accident? What's the accident benefit - because my niece was in an accident about four years back, flown to shock trauma and spent 2 weeks in the hospital.
 
Total garbage. One of my clients was almost tricked into buying this crap for $629/month instead of getting a guaranteed-issue HIPAA plan with a reputable company for $550/month that will actually cover major medical. The agent that he talked to was licensed with the same reputable company I sold him a policy with and didn't even know what HIPAA portability was. I looked at the "benefit" summary and quickly gathered that there was no way he was ever going to get $7500/year in benefits back out of that policy. Don't be fooled by their slanted presentations.
 
I am considering selling USHealth Group's plans for individuals and the self employed. (Underwritten by Freedom Life). My concern is the quality of the plans because I definitely don't want to hurt anyone. I am the kind of person who will go out of my way to make sure the customer understands the limitiations of a plan.

One plan "acts like" a major med, but it is not. It is simply a bundling of products that covers just about every possible claim scenario. On the surface it looks like a winner.

The other plans, which are guaranteed issue, are indemnity plans but the "gaps" are covered with the other supplemental plans such as critical illness, accident, etc.

Has anyone had experience with these plans and this group?

Thanks!

Sylvia, I like your sentence, "My concern is the quality of the plans because I definitely don't want to hurt anyone. I am the kind of person who will go out of my way to make sure the customer understands the limitations of a plan." That's what motivated you to ask us our opinion, and you were wise to do so. Clearly, there's a question in your mind... You should always listen to those inner questions, because they will point you to pitfalls before you step into one.

Limited benefit plans are such pitfalls. They are full of gaps, and when you add the premium together for all the "plans", it's as much as it would cost for a well-rounded medical plan from a reputable company. With limited benefit plans, even a bundled set of plans, the client rarely ever experiences a reimbursement for claims that meets or exceeds the annual premium. There are just too many holes, too many policy limitations and unexpected details.

There was a day when a person who was uninsured, uninsurable, and without options would purchase such a plan in hopes that they could have some sort of coverage. But today, with HIPAA, COBRA and PCIP, there's rarely a reason to recommend a limited benefit plan. Many of us won't even recommend it if the person has absolutely no options whatsoever, because it's an E&O waiting to happen. The client almost always loses, in ways that were not clear when the client read the benefit summary. Most agents who sell (sold) limited benefit plans either 1) leave the health insurance industry; 2) get angry, become educated in the market and then sell standard major medical policies with a hatred of limited benefit plans; 3) cringe at the fact that they sold these plans to their family and close friends only to find out they were not comparable to standard major medical plans that were available.

I hope this helps you make your decision. You're better off looking at standard major medical plans from reputable insurers in your area.
 
Ann and the rest of you who took the time to reply - Thank you, thank you! Ann, you make such good sense and you are right - my "gut" was telling me this was wrong, wrong, wrong, but I had to hear it from experienced agents. Because of your feedback, I definitely will stay away from these plans. Happy New Year!!:laugh:
 
Part of our job with helping prospects is actually steering their clear of stuff like this. There are options, especially the PCIP. However, every once is a while there's someone you just can't help.
 
Ann and the rest of you who took the time to reply - Thank you, thank you! Ann, you make such good sense and you are right - my "gut" was telling me this was wrong, wrong, wrong, but I had to hear it from experienced agents. Because of your feedback, I definitely will stay away from these plans. Happy New Year!!:laugh:


Cash Before Chemo | TX HEALTH INSURANCE

LAKE JACKSON, Texas — When Lisa Kelly learned she had leukemia in late 2006, her doctor advised her to seek urgent care at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. But the nonprofit hospital refused to accept Mrs. Kelly’s limited insurance. It asked for $105,000 in cash before it would admit her.
 
Now that is scary! It would make a good sales tool, for major medical. Buy a limited plan, but risk this happening. Makes Obama care look good.
 
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