Critical illness insurance can play a pivotal role, especially for first responders who suffer a life-endangering illness like cancer. But what exactly is critical illness insurance? And what does research tell us about the cancer incidence among emergency services workers?
EMS professionals must deal with this, as they can also fall victim to an illness. Therefore, it is best to understand how a good insurance package can help them.
Critical Illness Insurance
As the name implies, critical illness insurance helps alleviate the financial burden of treatment and recovery from acute illnesses like cancer.
It’s important to note that this insurance is not a substitute for health insurance. Health insurance can cover various medical expenses, including medications, doctor visits, hospital stays, preventive care, surgeries, and other healthcare services.
Critical illness coverage focuses on paying a lump sum benefit once a doctor has diagnosed someone with a covered illness.
What Does Critical Insurance Cover?
Aside from cancer, other common illnesses covered under this policy include:
- Stroke: A policy may cover ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, resulting in long-term impairment.
- Kidney failure: Insurance plans may cover end-stage renal (kidney) failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation.
- Heart-related conditions: This may include heart attacks, coronary artery bypass surgery, angioplasty, and other heart conditions.
It’s important to carefully review the specific terms and conditions of the policy to understand better the exact illnesses covered and the level of coverage provided for each condition.
Exclusions
Here are some common examples of what critical illness insurance may not cover:
- Illnesses or conditions that existed before the person purchased the policy.
- Certain types of cancer
- Chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, or high blood pressure, are generally not covered
- Self-inflicted injuries
- Experimental or unproven treatments for a critical illness
What the Research Tells Us
According to a 2021 study by Hood et al., skin cancer accounted for most reported cancer cases among EMS providers, comprising over 50% of all responders.
In addition to skin cancer, EMS providers also reported cases of prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, and uterus cancer.
Interestingly, the study revealed a higher number of prostate, breast, colon, kidney, and uterus cancers among EMS professionals during their careers than before they started working in the EMS profession.
On the contrary, EMS providers reported fewer cases of cervix/cervical cancer and lymphoma/Hodgkin’s lymphoma during their careers compared to their pre-EMS period.
These findings raise whether occupational factors or exposures in the EMS field contribute to a higher (or lower) incidence of these cancers or are simply coincidental.
About Provident Insurance Programs
With roots dating back to 1902, Provident Insurance Programs is a program administrator that serves paid and volunteer firefighters in addition to emergency medical responders with numerous custom-tailored insurance programs. We’ve also extended our expertise and experience to offer benefit plans and coverages to participant groups as well as Transportation Benefits. We are committed to continuing to provide superior customer service, and would be happy to speak with you to provide further information. Give us a call today at (855) 201-8880 to speak with one of our representatives.