Is Your Health Insurance World Upside Down?

Almost every day, I talk to people who are worried about the health care system in this country…not necessarily the doctors, nurses and hospitals, but the insurance part of the health care system. Business owners (and their employees) are on edge either because they got a 25%+ increase on their health insurance premiums, or they have had to raise their deductibles to uncomfortable levels to keep their insurance costs low.

I know there are a lot of different things that have affected their need to change their insurance coverage, but there is hope. I am not saying that there is hope in the direction the current administration is driving this health care coverage vehicle, nor in the change they promised. What I am saying is that there is an opportunity for stability in the health insurance lives of the millions of Americans affected by this change. Every day people are turning to Supplemental Insurance. They are finding that SI is a good way to help them bridge the gap between their health insurance coverage and their own out-of-pocket responsibilities.

Supplemental Insurance does not pay the doctor, hospital, technician, facility or therapist (if you are in a health care profession and I missed you, I apologize). It puts tax free (usually) money into your pocket and leaves to your discretion how you spend the money. If you need it for doctor’s bills, fine. If you missed work because of an illness or injury and need to use it to pay that illusive utility bill, fine. If you want to put it in your “fun money slush fund,” it does not matter.
The bottom line is that with Supplemental Insurance (like AFLAC) you have the ability to meet your financial obligations, even in the face of serious medical events.

Oregon or Auburn?

Now for a little fun...
The following article came from the NY Times. Enjoy!
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January 9, 2011
Oregon or Auburn? The Aflac Duck Is Torn

By KEN BELSON

What is a duck — or more specifically, the Aflac duck — to do on Monday night when the Oregon Ducks play the Auburn Tigers in the Bowl Championship Series title game?

The marketing gurus at the insurance company Aflac posed that tongue-in-cheek question on the duck’s Facebook page on Dec. 28. As the company’s ubiquitous mascot, the duck presumably should side with Oregon. Then again, Aflac’s headquarters in Columbus, Ga., are about 30 minutes from Auburn, Ala., and the Tigers are a favorite of many of the company’s 4,000 employees there.


For several days, a quiet debate ensued, with supporters of both teams posting comments on the duck’s Facebook page to justify its allegiance. Since the holidays ended, there has been a 3,000 percent increase in traffic compared with the reaction to a typical post on the duck’s page, which includes contests and an assortment of nonsports issues.

Some posts about the B.C.S. game included photos of tigers and eagles eating ducks.

Aflac started the debate on a lark; it is not a sponsor of the game. But the response led the company to try unsuccessfully to buy television advertising during the game. Aflac does not plan to do any guerilla marketing in Glendale, Ariz., where the game is being played.

Still, the reaction is another reminder that despite the best-laid plans of marketing executives, some of the most effective advertising is unintentional and unpredictable.

“The funny thing about Facebook is you never know how things will take off and leapfrog,” said Laura Kane, a company spokeswoman. “It is really humbling when this kind of organic thing happens.”