May marks National Women’s Health Month and is dedicated to educating women about how to take control of their health and make positive changes.
Despite this, the inadequacy of health care coverage continues to play a pivotal role in women pursuing preventive care or services and following through on recommended tests and treatments.
In addition, the growing cost of health care means medical bills can add up quickly. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation report, 26% of women indicated they delayed or went without care due to costs, and the same number reported having trouble paying medical bills within the past year.
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Fortunately, innovations in group critical illness insurance have helped create a turning point in addressing women’s health issues. Depending on the plan, traditional critical illness coverage can pay benefits when a person experiences a covered serious illness, such as a stroke, coma, cancer and more. Insurers understand now more than ever the challenges women face — medically and financially — and are adapting their plans to include more benefits covering diseases that impact women.
This could be a particularly time to talk about this kind of coverage with your group health clients.
Meeting women’s holistic health needs
Critical illness coverage can be particularly relevant to women’s health needs. For example, heart health is a major issue for women. Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in American women, claiming more than 400,000 lives each year, according to the American Heart Association. Critical illness coverage can help with expenses related to heart attack, cardiac arrest and more — and at a time when recovery should be the most important thing, the high cost of medical treatment can be overwhelming.