The bills your health plan leaves behind.
Dental and vision are usually not in a health plan at all. And even a good health plan hands you the first few thousand dollars of a hospital stay. These are the small policies that cover that gap.
Quote these yourself, any time.
These are small enough that most people can pick one without help. Look at the annual maximum and the waiting periods rather than the monthly price.
Dental & vision plans
Compare individual and family dental and vision coverage, and enroll online. Check the annual maximum and whether major work has a waiting period before you compare premiums.
Quote dental & vision ↗Accident & hospital indemnity
Cash paid straight to you after an accidental injury or a hospital stay — on top of whatever your health plan does, and yours to spend on anything. Pick your state, see the benefit amounts and monthly cost, and apply online.
Quote accident & indemnity ↗Not sure whether you need any of this? Say what your deductible is and you get a straight answer — including when the answer is that you are fine as you are.
Know your deductible before you need it
Most people cannot say what theirs is. It is the number you pay before the health plan starts paying, and one ambulance ride is usually enough to reach it.
What a gap policy actually does
It pays you, not the hospital. A fixed amount for an ambulance, an ER visit, a night admitted, a broken bone. You decide what it goes toward — the deductible, the rent, the time off work.
Who it is genuinely worth it for
People on a high‑deductible plan, families with kids in sport, and anyone whose savings would not absorb a surprise $3,000. If you have a low deductible and money set aside, you probably do not need it — and we will say so.
Dental
Rarely included in a marketplace health plan for adults. Most plans have an annual maximum rather than an out‑of‑pocket cap, so what matters is the yearly limit and the waiting period on major work — not the monthly premium.
Vision
Usually a small monthly cost covering an exam and a contribution to lenses or contacts. Worth running the numbers against just paying cash — for a single person with one exam a year, cash sometimes wins.
One question sorts most of this out.
What would you do tomorrow if a hospital sent you a bill for $4,000? If you have a clean answer, you do not need us. If you do not, that is worth five minutes.