Published June 09, 2020
Last updated April 26, 2021
Most of us say, “It will never happen to me.” But each year, over 805,000 Americans will have a heart attack,1 more than 795,000 will suffer a stroke,2 and an American Cancer Society study predicts that 1.9 million American will receive a new cancer diagnosis in 2021.3
Thanks to modern medicine, more people than ever survive critical conditions like these. But there are often high costs associated with treatment that put a strain on a family’s budget. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck,4 and medical bills are almost always unexpected, and typically additional costs accompany those bills that are not necessarily medically-related, like time lost from work, cost for travel and parking, and the cost for added help at home.
What if it happens to me?
Critical illnesses can cause financial devastation to individuals and families—even those with health insurance. That’s what makes critical illness insurance a popular form of supplemental coverage. Read on to learn the basics.
Critical care insurance covers some of the costliest illnesses.
The “big three” illnesses covered by critical care plans are heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. Most policies cover a wide range of other serious illnesses such as kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, and even blindness. Critical illness insurance can provide a lump-sum benefit to help a patient cover their costs, many of which aren’t covered by their major medical plan, if they’re diagnosed and treated for a covered condition.
A critical illness can greatly affect your livelihood.
Developing a critical condition can result in sudden, unexpected out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses that often include:
