COLUMBUS, Ga., Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the
leading provider of voluntary insurance at the worksite in
the United States, today announced
the launch of a new critical illness plan — Critical Care
Protection. This plan offers a wide range of coverage options as
well as new benefits for heart conditions. In the event of a heart
attack or stroke, the Critical Care Protection plan is designed to
help provide policyholders with a financial safety net so they can
concentrate on their recovery and not on money matters.
Heart disease remains the No. 1 cause of death among men and
women, and it's the most costly medical condition in the United States.1 More than
920,000 Americans have a heart attack annually, and nearly half of
these occur without warning signs or symptoms.2 The
estimated out-of-pocket expenses for a heart attack could cost an
average of $5,000 to $8,000 during
the first year of treatment.3 In addition, survivors of
a severe stroke could be facing $20,346 in treatment in the first 30 days
alone.4
By way of comparison, the total direct and indirect costs
($315.4 billion) for cardiovascular
disease (CVD) are higher than the National Institutes of Health
estimates for the overall costs of cancer in 2009, which are
$216.6 billion.5 And these
costs are expected to continue to rise. The American Heart
Association projects that the total cost of CVD, including direct
and indirect costs, will nearly double between 2015 and 2030,
soaring from $656 billion to $1,208
trillion — an increase of 109 percent.1
"Unlike other critical illness insurance policies, Aflac's
Critical Care Protection plan helps cover expenses from initial
diagnosis through treatment and features robust benefits for heart
conditions," said J. Keith Pellerin,
vice president of Product Management and Innovation at Aflac. "Our
new plan's increased coverage options can help ease financial
burden in the unfortunate event of a critical illness. When such
devastating things happen, the focus needs to be on getting better
and not worrying about bills."
Critical Care Protection's key features
There are three plan options featuring enhanced benefits
coverage, such as:
- First-Occurrence Benefit – Cash benefit increased to
$7,500 payable once per covered
person, per lifetime and $10,000 for
dependent children.
- Subsequent Health Event Benefit – Cash benefit increased
to $3,500 payable per covered
person.
- Coronary Angioplasty Benefit – Cash benefit increased to
$1,000 payable once per covered
person, per lifetime.
In addition, plan Option 3 includes all benefits in Options 1
and 2 as well as these new benefits:
- Specified Heart Surgery Benefits – Cash benefit
of $4,000 for heart valve surgery and
surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm per covered
person.
- Subsequent Specified Heart Surgery Benefit – Cash
benefit of $1,000 payable per covered
person, per lifetime.
- Specified Heart Surgery Benefits – Cash benefit
of $2,000 per covered person, per
lifetime, such as:
- Coronary angioplasty.*
- Coronary stent implantation.
- Cardiac catheterization.
- Pacemaker placement.
Costs are rising, but most employees aren't poised to foot
the bill
Many Americans are financially unprepared if faced with the high
price tag associated with critical illness. According to the 2014
Aflac WorkForces Report, 66 percent of workers said they would not
be able to adjust to the large financial costs related to a serious
injury or illness, and 49 percent had less than $1,000 on hand to pay for out-of-pocket medical
expenses.6
Critical illness supplemental coverage helps provide protection
from the financial liability that can accompany certain health
events. Aflac's Critical Care Protection voluntary insurance policy
works side-by-side with major medical plans by offering cash
benefits that can be used to pay deductibles, copayments and
household expenses, such as rent or mortgage, utilities, child care
and credit card debt.
Aflac pays claims within one day
Ensuring policyholders get their benefits paid quickly, the
insurer recently launched One Day Pay℠ for eligible claims
submitted online through the Aflac SmartClaim® system. When claims
are submitted by 3 p.m. ET,
Monday-Friday, with all supporting documentation, Aflac will then
process, approve and disburse payment, regardless of whether it's a
simple, moderate or complex claim, within just one business day.
SmartClaim is available for Aflac's individual accident, cancer,
hospitalization or illness policies. To receive payments even
faster, direct deposit enrollment is available and recommended.
For more information, visit Aflac.com/business or follow
@aflac on Twitter.
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt,
Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For nearly six decades, Aflac
insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to
focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leading
provider of voluntary insurance at the worksite. Through its
trailblazing One Day Pay initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive,
process, approve and disburse payment to policyholders for eligible
claims within one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of
medical and cancer insurance and insures one in four households.
Aflac individual and group insurance products help provide
protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For eight
consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere
magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2014,
Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best
Companies to Work For in America for the 16th consecutive year.
Also, in 2014, Fortune magazine included Aflac on its list
of Most Admired Companies for the 13th time, ranking the company
number one in the life and health insurance category. Aflac
Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac
and One Day Pay, visit aflac.com or espanol.aflac.com.
Media contact – Kip Havel,
706.243.5543 or mediarelations@aflac.com
1 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2014 Update,
American Heart Association,
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/129/3/e28.full.pdf+html
accessed on Jan. 15, 2015.
2 Heart Disease Statistics, The Heart Foundation,
http://www.theheartfoundation.org/heart-disease-facts/heart-disease-statistics/
accessed on Jan. 13, 2015.
3 American Cancer Society Center Cancer Action
Network (CANS CAN),
http://action.acscan.org/site/News2??page+NewsArticle&id=11253&news_iv_clrl=1321
accessed on Jan. 13, 2015.
4 The Hastings Center, Health Care Cost Monitor,
http://healthcarecostmonitor.thehastingscenter.org/kimberlyswartz/projected-costs-of-chronic-diseases/
accessed on Jan. 13, 2015.
5 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures
2014. Atlanta: American Cancer
Society; 2014.
6 2014 Aflac WorkForces Report, a study conducted by
Research Now on behalf of Aflac, Jan.
2014.
*The benefit for Coronary Angioplasty in Option 3 is not in
addition to the benefit in Option 1. If Option 3 is chosen, this is
the only benefit amount paid for this condition.
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SOURCE Aflac