What I offer
Cancer insurance
A lump sum when a covered cancer is first diagnosed. Some plans add benefits for treatment, surgery and travel to a specialist.
Heart attack & stroke
A lump sum after a covered heart attack or stroke. Often sold together with cancer coverage as a “CHAS” or critical illness plan.
If it happens again
Many plans pay a second time for a recurrence, after a benefit-free interval. Not all do, so it is one of the first things I check.
Hospital indemnity
Fixed cash for each admission or each day in hospital. It pairs well with Medicare Advantage copays and high-deductible plans.
Dental
Cleanings, fillings, crowns, dentures and implants, depending on the plan. Preventive care is often covered right away; major work may have a waiting period.
Vision & hearing
Eye exams, glasses and contacts, hearing exams and hearing aid allowances, usually bundled with dental. Original Medicare covers none of the routine kind.
Why a cash benefit matters
About 1 in 4 heart attacks and strokes happens to someone who has already had one.
Heart attacks and strokes in the U.S. each year, split by first event and repeat event.
Is the check really tax-free?
Generally, yes. The IRS says that if you paid the premiums on an accident or health policy, the benefits you receive from it are not taxable.[6] Coverage paid for by an employer or with pre-tax dollars can be treated differently, so if yours comes through work, confirm it with your tax professional.
Hospital indemnity
A hospital stay is where deductibles and copays pile up fastest. Hospital indemnity pays you a fixed amount for each admission or each day, whatever the hospital bills. For people on Medicare Advantage it can offset the per-day hospital copays; for people under 65 on a high-deductible plan it can help cover the deductible.
What one day in a Florida hospital costs the hospital.
Florida hospital expenses per adjusted inpatient day, 2023, by type of hospital.
Dental, vision and hearing
Original Medicare does not cover most dental care, eye exams for glasses, or hearing aids and the exams to fit them.[8] A Medicare Supplement does not fill that gap either, because it only pays its share of what Medicare covers. Meanwhile, about one in three people aged 65 to 74 has hearing loss, and nearly half of those over 75 have trouble hearing.[9]
What people on Medicare spend out of pocket where Medicare does not reach.
Average yearly out-of-pocket spending among Medicare beneficiaries who used each service.
How these fit with what you already have
- With a Medicare Supplement: your Supplement handles the medical bills. A cancer or heart attack and stroke plan handles life around them, and a dental, vision and hearing plan covers what neither Medicare nor your Supplement touches.
- With Medicare Advantage: hospital indemnity offsets the daily hospital copays, and a stand-alone dental plan usually goes much further than the dental allowance built into most Advantage plans.
- With life insurance: many of the life policies I place include living-benefit riders that let you draw on the death benefit for a terminal, chronic or critical illness. They are not all the same, and I will tell you exactly what yours includes.
Questions to ask before you buy any of these
- Is there a waiting period before benefits start, and how long is it?
- What counts as a covered diagnosis? Some plans pay a reduced amount for early-stage or skin cancers.
- Does it pay again on a recurrence, and after how long?
- How are pre-existing conditions handled, and how far back does it look?
- Is it guaranteed renewable, and can the premium rise with age?
These are bought before a diagnosis, never after. Most plans exclude conditions you already have, so the best time to set one up is while the answer to every health question is still “no.”
Benefits, waiting periods, exclusions and availability vary by carrier and by state. This page describes general features; your policy’s own terms are what count, and I will walk you through them before you apply.