Peanut butter and jelly. Song and dance. Medicare MSA plans and hospital indemnity insurance. What do all these pairs have in common? They just go together!
It’s obvious why the first two sets jive so well, but what about that last set? First, we’ll provide a little background on Medicare MSA plans and what makes them invaluable plan options to have in your portfolio, especially during the Annual Enrollment Period. Then, we’ll dive into why you should sell hospital indemnity insurance with Medicare MSA plans!
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The Benefits of MSA Plans for Medicare Eligibles
In case you aren’t aware, a Medicare MSA plan is a high-deductible plan. Once the deductible is met, all of the policyholder’s Medicare expenses are 100 percent covered until their deductible resets the next year.
MSA plans are similar to HSA plans, but with Medicare MSA plans, a lump sum is deposited by Medicare into the policyholder’s medical savings account annually. (With HSA plans, the onus is on the policyholder to fund their health savings account.) Members can then spend their account balance on qualified medical expenses that year or save it to use during future years. Any MSA funds not used within a year of their deposit roll over and stay in the account until they’re used by the account holder!
Medicare MSA plans are a great, cost-effective insurance option for healthier Medicare eligibles — people who don’t see their doctors a lot of times throughout the year, people who don’t have chronic health conditions, or people who have chronic conditions that are under control.
Medicare MSA plans are a great, cost-effective insurance option for healthier Medicare eligibles — people who don’t see their doctors a lot of times throughout the year, people who don’t have chronic health conditions, or people who have chronic conditions that are under control. In other words, these plans are designed for those who can afford to pay a few health care costs throughout the year, and those who can benefit from having the flexibility to roll the remainder of their MSA balance over to the next! Who should join an Medicare MSA plan comes down to financial considerations and what makes sense for each of your clients on an individual level.
Why Pair Hospital Indemnity Plans with Medicare MSA Plans?
While Medicare MSAs cover Medicare Part A and B services, they don’t cover prescription drug costs, making a stand-alone prescription drug plan a great cross-sell. But, we’re not writing today to discuss the value of pairing MSA plans and PDPs; we’re talking about selling hospital indemnity insurance and MSA plans together.
Hospital indemnity plans are a natural cross-sell for agents with clients interested in, or already enrolled in, Medicare MSAs.
Hospital indemnity plans are a natural cross-sell for agents with clients interested in, or already enrolled in, Medicare MSAs. Why? If the MSA policyholder is unexpectedly hospitalized before reaching the deductible, an affordable hospital indemnity plan is a potential solution. It could help to lower your clients’ out-of-pocket costs, even if they’re in observation status. And, if your clients are in good health and only have “routine” health care expenses, a hospital indemnity plan can hedge against a high-cost risk like a hospital stay.
Hospital indemnity plans provide a fixed benefit that’s paid directly to the beneficiary when they’re hospitalized. This benefit can typically help pay for:
- Deductibles
- ER visits
- Hospital stays (including observation stays!)
- Surgeries
- Ambulance transportation
- Transportation and lodging
- Health screenings and more!
Since the benefit is provided directly to the individual, there aren’t any network restrictions associated with hospital indemnity plans!
How to Sell Hospital Indemnity Insurance with MSA Plans
Hospital indemnity plans can be marketed and sold during a Medicare Advantage appointment so long as it’s agreed to on the Scope of Appointment. Otherwise, the best time to sell hospital indemnity plans is during follow-up appointments with Medicare clients.
Hospital indemnity plans can be marketed and sold during a Medicare Advantage appointment so long as it’s agreed to on the Scope of Appointment.
For more information about selling hospital indemnity plans, check out our “Boost Business Selling Hospital Indemnity Insurance” post. In it, we cover how to strategize your hospital indemnity sales, transition the conversation to hospital indemnity insurance, and close these sales! For ideas on how to pitch Medicare MSA plans to clients, check out our “[How to Pitch Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs)](/blog/how-to-pitch-medicare-medical-savings-accounts-msas “How to Pitch Medicare Medical Savings Accounts MSAs”) post. There, you’ll find more info about who MSAs are meant for, common concerns clients have about MSAs and how to address them, and more general info about selling these types of plans!
Is Hospital Indemnity Worth It with Medicare MSA Plans?
We’ve already written about the value of selling hospital indemnity with Medicare Advantage plans in general, and guess what? Medicare MSA plans are a type of Medicare Advantage plan, making them equally valuable to sell with hospital indemnity insurance!
Hospital indemnity plans can lower your MSA clients’ out-of-pocket expenses, in the event that they are hospitalized, or act as their safety net if they aren’t.
Hospital indemnity plans can lower your MSA clients’ out-of-pocket expenses, in the event that they are hospitalized, or act as their safety net if they aren’t. Enrolling in an MSA plan and hospital indemnity may even be more cost-effective for your clients than enrolling in Original Medicare and Medicare Supplement plan, like Plan F or G!
So, is it worthwhile to sell hospital indemnity protection with Medicare MSA plans? We emphatically say “YES!” If you’re making the most out of Medicare MSA plans and the opportunities they provide for Medicare eligibles, then you better be offering hospital indemnity plans and making the most out of them, too.
Looking for an excellent Medicare MSA plan for 2020 and beyond? We’ve got the scoop on that and the hospital indemnity match-ups to go with it. Contact our Sales team today for those details and ask us for our MSA and hospital indemnity plan cheat sheet to get a real breakdown, in dollar terms, of just how cost-effective and beneficial pairing Medicare MSA plans and hospital indemnity plans really is for agents and clients!
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.
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