Filling Health Plan Holes

Some employers are thinking about using hospital indemnity plans and other limited-benefit medical plans to fill in gaps in major medical coverage.

Major players in the worksite supplemental health market include units of companies such as Aflac Inc., Columbus, Ga.; Allstate Corp., Northbrook, Ill.; Assurant Inc., New York; and UnumProvident Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn.

“We feel like there’s a tremendous opportunity here,” says Matt Purrington, a UnumProvident supplemental insurance executive. “Most of the major players in the worksite market either have or are developing supplemental medical products.”

Rising co-payment levels, coinsurance rates and employee premium contributions are responsible for some of the gaps in insured workers’ coverage.