Worried Sick About Going to the Hospital?

COLUMBIA, S.C., April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With the rising cost of health care, even the thought of a hospital stay can make a healthy person sick with worry.  

Not only is the cost of medical treatment rising rapidly, but so are deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses. In fact, the percent of employees enrolled in a health plan with at least a $1,000 deductible has more than doubled since 2006.(1)   A hospital visit creates a loss of income for many individuals.  Hospitalization can also generate lots of non-medical expenses for patients and their family members such as gas, meals and lodging, not to mention the ongoing bills and expenses associated with running a household.

Hospital confinement plans, like the one released today by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, can help soften the blow of a hospital stay.  The company's new Group Medical Bridge 1.0 product is a group hospital confinement indemnity plan that pays benefits to help cover the out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses associated with a covered hospital stay.  Plans are available to also cover the out-of-pocket medical and non-medical expenses associated with outpatient surgery, diagnostic tests, doctor office visits and trips to the emergency room.  Benefits are paid regardless of any other benefits an employer offers such as health insurance.

"This new product can help employees protect themselves from the financial risk associated with a hospital stay," says Susan Cotter, vice president for marketing and products at Colonial Life. "They can use the benefits to pay for medical expenses as well as other expenses such as the mortgage, daycare and groceries that don't stop just because you're in the hospital."

Benefits and Features

Colonial Life's new group hospital confinement indemnity plan offers the following benefits and features:

• Four different coverage types are available for employees and their families.
• Coverage is available for everyone on a guaranteed issue basis, including employees, spouses and dependents.  No health questions are ever asked.
• Pre-existing conditions can be waived for everyone who purchases the policy.
• Benefits can be used to pay for medical expenses or bills as the employee sees fit.
• Benefits are paid directly to employees, unless they specify otherwise.

For more information about Colonial Life's new Group Medical Bridge plan, call (803) 798-7000 or visit www.ColonialLife.com.

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a market leader in providing insurance benefits for employees and their families through their workplace, along with individual benefits education, advanced yet simple-to-use enrollment technology and quality personal service. Colonial Life offers disability, life and supplemental accident and health insurance policies in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Similar policies, if approved, are underwritten in New York by a Colonial Life affiliate, The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, Worcester, Mass. Colonial Life is based in Columbia, S.C., and is a subsidiary of Unum Group, one of the world's leading providers of employee benefits. For more information, visit www.ColonialLife.com.

(1)  Kaiser/HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits, 2006-2010.

SOURCE Colonial Life