AFLAC - worth it?

[SamSpade]

Since seeing a lot of commercials lately, I've been wondering using AFLAC. Not soon because we've even had to cancel most doctor visits and all dental visits.

But in the past, some of our biggest costs have been the co pays, the hospital admin costs, travel, and so forth. And it's my understanding that AFLAC covers things like that. What I don't know is a cost/benefit analysis, which only someone who's actually USED it would know. There's really not much point to paying them and only get a trickle back, or getting it back but having to fight the paperwork.

I have a maxed out flexible spending plan which is almost always empty by June. I'm just wondering if it's worth the cost.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

My wife used it to pay for missed work while on maternity leave. The claims process was smooth and easy.

I've heard from other folks who thought they were covered, but ended up not. "Read the fine print" was their advice.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Since seeing a lot of commercials lately, I've been wondering using AFLAC. Not soon because we've even had to cancel most doctor visits and all dental visits.

But in the past, some of our biggest costs have been the co pays, the hospital admin costs, travel, and so forth. And it's my understanding that AFLAC covers things like that. What I don't know is a cost/benefit analysis, which only someone who's actually USED it would know. There's really not much point to paying them and only get a trickle back, or getting it back but having to fight the paperwork.

I have a maxed out flexible spending plan which is almost always empty by June. I'm just wondering if it's worth the cost.

Have you considered other plans vs the one you have?

Do you have FEPBLUE?

 

[SamSpade]

Have you considered other plans vs the one you have?

Do you have FEPBLUE?

I have great health insurance. It still doesn't cover everything. I have great dental and vision.
But my costs still run into the thousands every year, and lots of other costs - such as travel - insurance never covers.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

I have great health insurance. It still doesn't cover everything. I have great dental and vision.
But my costs still run into the thousands every year, and lots of other costs - such as travel - insurance never covers.

That doesnt sound all that great to me.

 

[Louise]

That doesnt sound all that great to me.

It is not great. We just qualified for Medicare this year. But, because husband plays the stock market, and our dog, Daisy Doodle, had to have acl surgery last year, we had to take extra out of our accounts. According to Obamacare, we went over our allowed money, and we now owe 14,500 in taxes. Thank you, Obama. I am not kidding. We did get our check for the 2400 two days ago, but the state out country is very scary. Lock and load.

 

[PrchJrkr]

I have great health insurance. It still doesn't cover everything. I have great dental and vision.
But my costs still run into the thousands every year, and lots of other costs - such as travel - insurance never covers.

My wife had already been diagnosed with breast cancer before she returned to the workforce. The job she took offered AFLAC and she decided to give it a try. It paid out quite a bit towards the end of her battle. In her case, it seemed like it ended up paying out more than she paid in, although I never sat down and did the math. It helped us out greatly when we needed it the most. As Chris stated, the claims process was very easy. I just thank God that we had great insurance throughout her treatment and the progression of her disease. I can't imagine what it would've been like to go through that in the age of obamacare.

 

[Scat]

It is not great. We just qualified for Medicare this year. But, because husband plays the stock market, and our dog, Daisy Doodle, had to have acl surgery last year, we had to take extra out of our accounts. According to Obamacare, we went over our allowed money, and we now owe 14,500 in taxes. Thank you, Obama. I am not kidding. We did get our check for the 2400 two days ago, but the state out country is very scary. Lock and load.

WTH does the stock market and your dog have to do with it?

 

[SamSpade]

My wife had already been diagnosed with breast cancer before she returned to the workforce. The job she took offered AFLAC and she decided to give it a try. It paid out quite a bit towards the end of her battle. In her case, it seemed like it ended up paying out more than she paid in, although I never sat down and did the math. It helped us out greatly when we needed it the most. As Chris stated, the claims process was very easy. I just thank God that we had great insurance throughout her treatment and the progression of her disease. I can't imagine what it would've been like to go through that in the age of obamacare.

Thank you. This is the sort of answer I was hoping for. I'm going to look into it. I always caution ANYONE who goes into expensive medical care and shrugs "insurance will cover it" - and I ask them "really, when was the last time you had anything like this?". Never had a hospital stay where it didn't get expensive. Granted, I will look at the EOB and see 'patient responsibility' and see a grand or two - and then look over and see that WITHOUT insurance it'd be like half a year salary.

Actually, you know what gets me - tests. Testing. My kids and wife will get a bunch of tests for something and they will all be sort of cheap - but there will be a lot of them. And there's the occasional prescription that runs 60 or 70 - but would cost over a thousand out of pocket.

 

[PrchJrkr]

Thank you. This is the sort of answer I was hoping for. I'm going to look into it. I always caution ANYONE who goes into expensive medical care and shrugs "insurance will cover it" - and I ask them "really, when was the last time you had anything like this?". Never had a hospital stay where it didn't get expensive. Granted, I will look at the EOB and see 'patient responsibility' and see a grand or two - and then look over and see that WITHOUT insurance it'd be like half a year salary.

Actually, you know what gets me - tests. Testing. My kids and wife will get a bunch of tests for something and they will all be sort of cheap - but there will be a lot of them. And there's the occasional prescription that runs 60 or 70 - but would cost over a thousand out of pocket.

You're welcome. It wasn't easy putting it into words that would convey the message without getting too personal, but AFLAC worked to our advantage in the long run. It's for those little incidentals that add up very quickly and can overwhelm your budget, no matter how well you've got things planned out. In your situation, I would look into the benefits very closely before making the investment, but I won't pretend to know any more about your personal situation than what you share on the forums. Only you have all the information to make that decision. In our case it was a blessing to have the extra cushion.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

It is not great. We just qualified for Medicare this year. But, because husband plays the stock market, and our dog, Daisy Doodle, had to have acl surgery last year, we had to take extra out of our accounts. According to Obamacare, we went over our allowed money, and we now owe 14,500 in taxes. Thank you, Obama. I am not kidding. We did get our check for the 2400 two days ago, but the state out country is very scary. Lock and load.

Sounds like he made a decent amount trading stocks, if he had them over a year the max tax would be 15% so he did pretty damn good.

This is the first year I owed anything significant, I am just happy I was able to hold the stock I made a windfall on for a day over a year.

Medicare isn't bad, I deal with my moms bills afterward, she has a supplement plan from my dads work. I still end up writing a ton of $5, $10 checks etc.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

My wife had already been diagnosed with breast cancer before she returned to the workforce. The job she took offered AFLAC and she decided to give it a try. It paid out quite a bit towards the end of her battle. In her case, it seemed like it ended up paying out more than she paid in, although I never sat down and did the math. It helped us out greatly when we needed it the most. As Chris stated, the claims process was very easy. I just thank God that we had great insurance throughout her treatment and the progression of her disease. I can't imagine what it would've been like to go through that in the age of obamacare.

My dad had pancreatic cancer, he hung on for 5 years. In the end the insurance ended up paying well over a million, he actually paid nothing, he had really good insurance that pretty much paid for everything.

What he also had though was an indemnity plan through AARP that paid a set amount for every day you are in the hospital, I think it was about $160 a day, for a modest blue collar worker it really helped out.

While I don't care for the AARP politicing, they do offer some great services to seniors. I suggest anyone over 50 join for that reason.

 

[PrchJrkr]

My dad had pancreatic cancer, he hung on for 5 years. In the end the insurance ended up paying well over a million, he actually paid nothing, he had really good insurance that pretty much paid for everything.

What he also had though was an indemnity plan through AARP that paid a set amount for every day you are in the hospital, I think it was about $160 a day, for a modest blue collar worker it really helped out.

While I don't care for the AARP politicing, they do offer some great services to seniors. I suggest anyone over 50 join for that reason.

AARP has been courting me for years. I suppose one of these days I'll have to actually open the mail and see if I can separate their politics from their benefits and see if it's something worth picking up. The last thing I'd want to be, is a financial burden to my kids. They've been through more than enough as it is.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

AARP has been courting me for years. I suppose one of these days I'll have to actually open the mail and see if I can separate their politics from their benefits and see if it's something worth picking up. The last thing I'd want to be, is a financial burden to my kids. They've been through more than enough as it is.

While most worry about being a financial burden to their kids I'm finding it is the other side of it being the bigger problem.

The hardest thing is just figuring out how to care for a parent, what to do when something happens etc. I wish I had the for thought to figure out what to do in certain situations beforehand instead of after something happened.

The greatest gift you can give an adult child is having all your affairs in order and making things easy on them after you pass by letting them know about all your accounts, debts etc.

 

[PrchJrkr]

While most worry about being a financial burden to their kids I'm finding it is the other side of it being the bigger problem.

The hardest thing is just figuring out how to care for a parent, what to do when something happens etc. I wish I had the for thought to figure out what to do in certain situations beforehand instead of after something happened.

The greatest gift you can give an adult child is having all your affairs in order and making things easy on them after you pass by letting them know about all your accounts, debts etc.

I know that feeling all too much. I'm the primary caregiver to Mommy Dearest, but my siblings stepped up and made sure that she's got everything in order financially. Thank God for that, because although she is meticulous about keeping her finances under control, she has a certain way of filing things that only she understands. The only real debt she has is a small balance on a home equity loan that lists the house as collateral. I have no debt, so when the time comes, there won't be any big surprises to deal with.