Cinergy Health Plans

Cinergy Health, a low cost health plan provider, has two signature health plans: Cinergy Health Preferred 500 and Cinergy Health Preferred 1000. Neither plan covers catastrophic events. Instead, both are designed as supplements to comprehensive health care and appeal to people paying lofty deductible rates. Cinergy Health, however, has placed a moratorium on accepting new members.

Features

• Cinergy Health promotes the first dollar coverage that its preferred plans provide for routine medical care. First dollar coverage means that from the very first doctor's visit members of either plan pay a minimal deductible. Members may choose doctors and hospitals at will as coverage is not dependent on whether these facilities are included in Cinergy's coverage universe.

  The Cinergy Preferred plans provide a range of coverage from routine doctor visits to pregnancy as well as admittance to the intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency room visits, according Cinergy Health.

Function

• The Cinergy Health Preferred plans are limited medical benefit plans and are subsequently limited in the coverage they provide. Neither Cinergy plan covers catastrophic events. Since coverage for catastrophic events often translates into higher premiums at major medical insurance companies, Cinergy is able to keep premiums lower at the expense of less comprehensive medical coverage.

Benefits

• Rising health care costs in the United States have left millions of Americans without any health care coverage. Employers are expected to face continued rising costs through at least 2010, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

  Applying for health insurance as part of a group instead of applying as an individual can increase the chances for better rates. A larger number of policy holders holds more influence in negotiating rates versus a single person, says Steve Trattner, president of Cinergy Health in an August 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal.

Warning

• Mary Lloyd, a Cinergy Health subscriber and member of the medical community by profession, was surprised to learn that she did not have comprehensive health care coverage in her Cinergy Preferred plan.

  After paying nearly $500 per month for coverage for herself and her husband, Lloyd learned the couple would not be covered for a health situation that placed her husband in the ICU at the hospital. Lloyd says she was tricked into purchasing a health plan that was not insurance, according to an October 2009 article in the Star Tribune.

Considerations

• Cinergy is not accepting new participants to its Cinergy Health Preferred plans as of October 2009. There is an option on the health insurer's website to leave contact details to receive information about new Cinergy Health Preferred plans.