Since 1998, my general agency has actively assisted healthinsurance agents in the implementation of hundreds of group limitedmedical plans aka “minimeds." I’d like to weigh in on the present and future role ofthese plans and cut through some mythology, confusion and outrightdistortions surrounding them. The group limited medical planindustry encompasses a number of very different plans and carriers.These plans provide core medical insurance to a broad range ofconsumers.

The potential member’s perception of value and interest inenrolling in a limited medical plan depends on a number of factors,notably:

• The ability to afford your health plan (high premiumshare)
• The ability to afford family inclusion in your group plan(premium share)
• The ability to afford to actually use your health plan (highdeductibles)
• Amount employer pays towards premium
• Amount of acceptable out of pocket risk
• Access to first-dollar benefits
• Length of probationary period (new hires)
• Insured’s likelihood of illness or injury (preexistingcondition)
• Availability of supplemental benefits (cancer, LTC, CI)
• Existence of financial barriers that may discourage access tohealth care

Our firm has operated in this professional space for more than14 years. In that time, we’ve seen a slow but growing willingnessby workers to “trade off” catastrophic protection in exchange foraccess to first-dollar benefits. Although it is demonstrably truethat many employees confuse limited medical plans with moretraditional major medical insurance, when these plans areadequately explained and workers understand the risks and rewards(access in exchange for risk) the majority will take the limitedmedical option and fully understand it’s limitations.

From our own experience, most CEOs, CFOs, HR managers andbrokers have an opposite view of what employees and their familiesactually desire. We attribute this disconnect to a tendency for allof us to apply our own perspective (lost in our own selfish view)to those we think we serve.