Hospital Indemnity Plans
A hospital indemnity plan pays you directly: a fixed amount per day admitted, regardless of what your health plan does. It exists to cover the part of a hospital stay your deductible does not.
- Benefits paid to you, not to the hospital
- Pays in addition to your health plan, not instead of it
- Designed around high-deductible coverage
Request a hospital indemnity plans quote
Tell us what you need covered. A licensed agent follows up with options, usually the same business day.
What a hospital indemnity plans policy actually does
-
Daily hospital benefit
A fixed cash amount for each day you are admitted, paid to you regardless of the actual bill.
-
Admission benefit
A lump sum on admission on many plans, which is aimed at the deductible directly.
-
Intensive care benefit
A higher daily amount for ICU admission, where costs escalate fastest.
-
Use of funds
Because the benefit is paid to you, it can go to the deductible, to rent, to childcare, or to lost wages, whatever the stay actually costs your household.
-
Portability
The plan is generally not tied to an employer and continues if you change jobs.
-
It is not health insurance
It pays no medical claims and satisfies no coverage requirement. It supplements major medical coverage and cannot replace it.
-
Pre-existing condition limitations
Most plans apply a look-back period during which related admissions are excluded.
-
Outpatient care
Benefits attach to inpatient admission. An emergency room visit that does not become an admission usually pays nothing.
Hospital Indemnity Plans questions
Who is this actually for?
People on high-deductible health plans, where a single admission means paying several thousand dollars before the plan contributes much. The indemnity benefit covers that gap in cash.
Does it coordinate with my health plan?
No, and that is the point. It pays its stated benefit independently of what any other coverage pays.
Is there a waiting period?
Usually a short one for illness, often none for accidents, plus a pre-existing condition look-back. The specifics are in the plan documents.
What happens if I change jobs?
These plans are generally individually owned and portable, unlike employer-sponsored supplemental coverage.
This is not an insurance policy
A hospital indemnity plan is fixed indemnity coverage. It pays a stated cash benefit for covered events and does not pay medical claims. It is not major medical insurance, does not satisfy any health coverage requirement, and is intended to supplement, not replace, comprehensive health coverage.
Related coverage
-
Health Insurance
Marketplace, short-term, and supplemental plans, compared on deductible, network, and what actually happens when you use them.
-
Dental Insurance
Most medical plans exclude routine dental care. A standalone plan covers cleanings, fillings, and the work that gets expensive fast.
-
Telemedicine Plans
Flat-fee access to a licensed clinician by phone or video, usually with no per-visit charge. A membership plan, not an insurance policy.
Not sure what you need?
Tell a licensed agent what you're insuring and what you're worried about. We'll walk through the options and what each one actually costs.