Protect Employee Health, Finances, and Future with Ancillary Insurance: When it comes to employer-offered insurance, medical care is just the beginning.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: Healthcare

Today, there are a variety of ancillary or supplemental health and wellness insurance options that employees can take advantage of to protect themselves, their families, and their finances. This additional coverage gives added peace of mind and is increasingly being used to augment traditional health coverage in workers' benefits packages.

The most common types of supplemental insurance are dental, vision, life, short-term disability, accident, critical care, hospital confinement, and long-term care. These insurance products are available in Alaska from many companies: among them are Pre-mera Blue Cross Blue Shield Alaska, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, and New York Life Insurance Company.

Alaska employers often provide ancillary insurance options as an extension of their health insurance coverage. They think of these products as valuable enhancements to employee health and wellness benefits. Denali Federal Credit Union is a prime example. As part of its health insurance, Denali FCU includes dental and vision insurance. The credit union's employee benefits package also features long-term disability coverage, which takes effect after a ninety-day waiting period and covers up to $6,000 a month, according to Assistant Vice President of Human Resources T.J. Alinen, SHRM-SCP, SPHR. The company pays approximately 90 percent of the cost for its employees' health insurance and 75 percent for their dependents.

Denali offers a typical amount of coverage with its life, dental, and vision insurance options. It provides group term life insurance--which also includes accidental death and dismemberment benefits--at an amount that is twice the employee's annual pay up to $300,000. (Group term life is provided to all eligible employees, regardless of whether they elect health insurance.) The company's dental insurance covers preventative care (cleanings and an annual exam) at 100 percent, routine services (such as fillings) at 80 percent, and major services (crowns, bridges, and oral surgery) at 50 percent. Coverage outside of preventative care is subject to an annual maximum benefit of $2,000.

With Denali's vision insurance, employees can receive an annual exam for glasses with standard lenses at no cost and an allowance of up to $150 for a frame or contact lenses.

Denali FCU also offers critical illness, accident, and cancer insurance through American Fidelity. Employees pay 100 percent of the premium, which is based on gender, age, and level of coverage, and receive cash benefits for claims. However, starting in 2018, the credit union will no longer provide group dental and vision coverage with its health insurance. Employees will have the option to purchase them separately as a stand-alone option. "So if employees don't need health insurance, they can select our vision and/or dental insurance," Alinen says. "It will provide flexibility for our employees to select the benefits they ultimately need."

Incidentally, Denali provides health insurance for all of its employees who work at least thirty hours a week. Health insurance coverage for eligible employees kicks in the first month following sixty days of employment. The company self-funds its health insurance and uses a third-party administrator to process claims. "We have two different health plans: a standard PPO plan with a $1,000 deductible with $30 copays and a high-deductible health plan with a $2,600 deductible that can be paired with a health savings account," Alinen...