Darin Weidauer, licensed insurance agent · NPN 18580338National number (424) 295-0627 · darinweidauer@ecos.care
Coverage Under 65

Hospital Indemnity Insurance

A fixed amount for each day in hospital, and for the surgery, intensive care and nursing around it. Built for one job: absorbing the deductible and coinsurance your major medical plan leaves you holding when you are actually admitted.

Read this before anything else

This product does not constitute comprehensive health insurance coverage (often referred to as, “major medical coverage”). Therefore, this product does not satisfy the requirement of Minimum Essential Coverage under the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. For additional information, you can contact us, refer the official federal website at www.healthcare.gov, or call their toll-free number at 800-318-2596.

This is for ages 18 to 64, and it is not health insurance.

Fixed indemnity coverage pays set cash amounts when specific things happen — a night in hospital, a surgery, an emergency room visit. It does not pay a share of your bill and it does not cap what you can owe. If you can get comprehensive coverage through an employer, through the Health Insurance Marketplace or through Medicaid, that is a better product than this one and you should look at it first. This exists for the people who fall between those.

This product does not constitute comprehensive health insurance coverage (often referred to as, “major medical coverage”). Therefore, this product does not satisfy the requirement of Minimum Essential Coverage under the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. For additional information, you can contact us, refer the official federal website at www.healthcare.gov, or call their toll-free number at 800-318-2596.

This is hospital indemnity insurance for the years before Medicare. It is designed to sit alongside a major medical plan and absorb what that plan leaves you to pay. It is not health insurance and it is not a substitute for one.

Every policy on this page ends, and they do not all end at the same point. Two are guaranteed renewable only to 65. The third is conditionally renewable and ends at the earlier of your becoming insured under Medicare or reaching 69, and in California 65 rather than 69. The renewal terms are set out against each company below, and they are one of the two or three things worth comparing before you choose.

If you are approaching Medicare, read those renewal terms first. Hospital indemnity bought alongside Medicare is a different policy with different rules, and it is on our supplemental coverage pages.

One line in that disclosure needs a date on it. The federal penalty for going without major medical coverage has been $0 since 2019, so for most readers there is no longer a federal tax consequence. A handful of states run their own mandate and do still charge one — of the states we are licensed in, that is California. Check your own state before treating the sentence above as a reason to buy anything.

How it works

What you are actually buying

It is a gap filler, and it says so

The argument the carrier makes is a sound one and worth stating plainly: a qualified plan can leave you exposed to several thousand dollars a year in deductible and coinsurance before it does much. Some people take the cheaper plan and spend the premium difference on something that pays cash when they are admitted. That is the case for this policy. It only works if you keep the major medical plan — this is not a replacement for one and cannot be.

Two designs, and they are not the same shape

Central Choice is built around a daily room benefit with riders bolted on to it. FirstChoice Blue Ribbon is built around a lump sum on the first confinement each year, with a heavier schedule for the days that follow. The Out-of-Pocket Protection Plan is built almost entirely on the admission itself — a single payment of up to $6,350 when you are admitted, with only a small daily benefit behind it, sized to be matched against the most your own major medical plan can leave you to pay in a year. All three are below in full. Work out what a week in hospital would actually cost you under your own plan, then read each one against that figure — a short admission and a long one favour different designs, which is the whole reason all three are here.

Pre-existing conditions are covered after twelve months

Not excluded permanently — covered, once you have held the policy a year. That is better than a lot of what is sold in this space, and it is also the reason to buy it before you need it rather than after.

They all end, and they do not all end at the same point

Two of the three below are guaranteed renewable only to 65, which is where Medicare picks up. The third is conditionally renewable and ends at the earlier of your becoming insured under Medicare or reaching 69 — 65 in California — so somebody who takes Medicare early through disability loses that one then. If you are close to Medicare, read the renewal terms against each company below before you read the premiums: hospital indemnity bought alongside Medicare is a separate policy with separate rules, and it is on our hospital indemnity page. And one policy we place does not end at all — issued from 18 to 89 and guaranteed renewable for life. It is on that same supplemental page, and it is linked above.

Any doctor, any hospital

There is no network requirement and no utilisation review. Benefits are paid directly to you. Using a First Health Network provider may reduce what you are charged, which makes a fixed benefit stretch further, but no benefit depends on it and the network is not part of the policy.

The comprehensive alternatives

These are not our products and we are not paid if you take one. Price them before you price anything on this page.

One hospital indemnity policy we place does not end at 65

Both policies on this page are guaranteed renewable only to 65, which means buying one in your forties commits you to buying again later. ManhattanLife’s Hospital Indemnity Select is issued from 18 to 89 and is guaranteed renewable for life, and its brochure states that rates do not increase as you age. Under 64½ it offers one base plan — a single day of confinement, with a daily benefit you size against whatever a hospital stay would actually cost you. It is on our supplemental coverage pages because it is also sold alongside Medicare, not because it is unavailable to you. Read it before you choose.

Hospital Indemnity Select, in full

What it pays

Manhattan Life — Central Choice

Every figure below is transcribed from ManhattanLife Central Choice brochure CC-BR 0623. Benefits, riders and amounts vary by state, and the policy issued to you governs.

Not available in Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Utah, Washington. Of the seventeen states this agency is licensed in, those are the ones this policy is not written in.

Optional rider

What a claim looks like

A 52-year-old man, heart bypass, seven days in hospital with three in intensive care

The brochure's own worked example. He holds a Central Choice Premier Choice plan, a separate Critical Protection and Recovery policy and a separate accident policy. Only the Central Choice plan is the product on this page; the other two are named because the example prices all three, and because what the accident policy pays here is worth seeing.

A 52-year-old man, heart bypass, seven days in hospital with three in intensive care
Policy and benefitPaid
Central Choice — daily room benefit, $500 a day × 7 days$3,500
Central Choice — indemnity rider, first hospital confinement of the year$1,000
Central Choice — first hospital confinement rider, over the first 6 days$10,000
Central Choice — surgical rider, $3,000 × 5 days (the maximum per confinement)$15,000
Central Choice — anaesthesia, $600 × 5 days$3,000
Central Choice — intensive care, $2,500 × 3 days$7,500
Total paid by the Central Choice Premier Choice plan — the product on this page$40,000
Critical Protection and Recovery — first occurrence benefit$10,000
Critical Protection and Recovery — monthly income, $1,000 × 12 months$12,000
Critical Protection and Recovery — hospital confinement, $300 × 7 days$2,100
Total paid by the Critical Protection and Recovery policy — a separate policy, sold on our supplemental pages$24,100
Accident policyNo benefits payable for this condition
Total paid across all three policies$64,100

Read the $40,000 subtotal, not the $64,100 total, as what this policy does: the rest comes from two other policies bought separately. The brochure prints the monthly income row twice at $12,000 and counts it once in its $24,100 subtotal, so it appears once here. And the accident policy pays nothing at all for this claim, which is the carrier's own illustration of why an accident policy is not a substitute for a hospital one.

Manhattan Life’s own wording: The examples shown are hypothetical and may vary depending on plan(s) selected.

Issue ages
The insured and spouse must be between 18 and 64½ to apply. Family coverage is available for unmarried dependent children under 26, and a dependent who ages out may convert to their own policy without evidence of insurability.
Underwriting
No occupational class is excluded. There is no utilisation review, and the policy carries no deductible, no coinsurance and no lifetime maximum — though each benefit has its own maximum.
When cover starts
Pre-existing conditions are covered after the first 12 months.
Availability
Guaranteed renewable until age 65 (70 in Florida), subject to the company's right to change premium rates. This is coverage for the years before Medicare, and it ends there.
Policy form
C-HPHI-14, CUL-HPHI2010, C-HPHI-11. Rider form CUL-HRLS, CUL-HRFHC, CUL-HRICU, CUL-HRPN, CHPHISP14, CUL-HREA, CUL-HRSI, CHPHIOS14. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Required disclosures from the carrier

THIS IS A SUPPLEMENT HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY, AND IT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MAJOR MEDICAL COVERAGE. LACK OF MAJOR MEDICAL COVERAGE (OR OTHER MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE) MAY RESULT IN AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT WITH YOUR TAXES.

Benefits and riders may vary by state and may not be available in all states.

What it costs

Monthly premium

Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas

Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas
Who is coveredPremier ChoiceSelect ChoiceEnhanced ChoiceEssential Choice
Single$189.00$158.35$70.90$49.15
Single with spouse$371.25$309.95$135.05$91.55
Single with children$306.55$255.00$115.40$78.70
Family$488.80$406.60$179.55$120.70

The carrier's generic rate table for its Daily Surgical Benefit states.

California

California
Who is coveredPremier ChoiceSelect ChoiceEnhanced ChoiceEssential Choice
Single$210.65$180.28$91.01$66.69
Single with spouse$394.30$333.56$166.02$117.38
Single with children$333.93$278.19$144.40$98.61
Family$517.58$431.47$219.41$149.30

California is priced separately. The benefits are the same as the generic states.

Georgia

Georgia
Who is coveredPremier ChoiceSelect ChoiceEnhanced ChoiceEssential Choice
Single$185.50$154.85$67.40$45.65
Single with spouse$366.00$304.70$129.80$86.30
Single with children$301.30$249.75$110.15$73.05
Family$481.80$399.60$172.55$113.70

Georgia is priced separately, and the Specified Injury Rider is not available there.

North Carolina

North Carolina
Who is coveredPremier ChoiceSelect ChoiceEnhanced ChoiceEssential Choice
Single$185.50$154.85$67.40$45.65
Single with spouse$366.00$304.70$129.80$86.30
Single with children$301.30$249.75$110.15$73.05
Family$481.80$399.60$172.55$113.70

North Carolina is priced separately, and the Specified Injury Rider is not available there.

Colorado

Colorado
Who is coveredPremier ChoiceSelect ChoiceEnhanced ChoiceEssential Choice
Single$179.77$144.93$71.91$38.77
Single with spouse$352.94$283.26$137.22$70.94
Single with children$301.98$239.45$121.44$62.56
Family$475.15$377.78$186.75$94.73

Colorado uses the traditional Surgical Schedule rather than the Daily Surgical Benefit, and is priced separately.

New Mexico

New Mexico
Who is coveredPremier ChoiceSelect ChoiceEnhanced ChoiceEssential Choice
Single$197.70$159.15$78.80$42.05
Single with spouse$388.65$311.55$150.85$77.35
Single with children$330.05$261.50$132.40$67.80
Family$521.00$413.90$204.45$103.10

New Mexico uses the traditional Surgical Schedule rather than the Daily Surgical Benefit, and is priced separately. The same rates apply in Idaho.

Monthly rates transcribed from the carrier's brochure and subject to change. Central Choice is priced state by state, so only the tables for states this agency is licensed in are published, each headed with the states it covers. Premiums are composite rated rather than set by age, which is unusual and is why one table covers every age from 18 to 64½.

What it pays

Manhattan Life — FirstChoice Blue Ribbon Series

Every figure below is transcribed from ManhattanLife FirstChoice Blue Ribbon Series brochure FCBRS-MONVBR 0723 (Missouri and Nevada edition). Benefits, riders and amounts vary by state, and the policy issued to you governs.

Does this apply in your state?

Everything set out above is transcribed from the Missouri and Nevada edition of this company's material — the policy form number carries the state in it. The way the policy is built is the product's, and it is why the design is worth comparing. The exact amounts, the riders on offer and the availability are that state's, and they can differ where you live.

Tell us your state and we will check it and send you the documents that apply to you. Call (424) 295-0627, or use the form at the bottom of this page.

What a claim looks like

Gall bladder removal, three days in hospital

A cholecystectomy with a three day stay, priced across all four plan designs. The first confinement rider pays for the second and third days; the surgical rider pays for each of the three.

Gall bladder removal, three days in hospital
BenefitPlan 1Plan 2Plan 3Plan 4
Lump sum on the first confinement$1,500$3,000$3,000$4,000
Hospital injury indemnityXXXX
First confinement, days 2 to 6$2,000$2,000$6,000$8,000
Intensive careXXXX
Surgical$1,500$3,000$9,000$12,000
Anaesthesia$300$600$1,800$2,400
Daily room benefit$300$300$1,500$3,000
Private duty nurseXXXX
Emergency accidentXXXX
Doctor's office visitXXXX
Accidental death and dismembermentXXXX
Outpatient diagnostic procedureXXXX
Total benefit payment$5,600$8,900$21,300$29,400

X marks a benefit the policy carries that this claim did not trigger. Nothing was billed to intensive care, a private duty nurse, an emergency accident, a doctor's office visit or the outpatient diagnostic procedure benefit, so none of them paid.

Our note on this example: These are illustrations, not policyholders and not claims. They are the carrier's own worked examples, and they show what each of the four plan designs would have paid on the stay described — not what any real person received. The figures are from the Missouri and Nevada edition of the brochure, and of the states we are licensed in that is Nevada. Ask us for your own state's edition before relying on any number here.

Injury in a motor vehicle accident, eight days in hospital

Because the confinement follows an accident, the hospital injury indemnity pays for all eight days on top of everything else. The first confinement rider reaches its six day limit and the surgical rider reaches its five day limit.

Injury in a motor vehicle accident, eight days in hospital
BenefitPlan 1Plan 2Plan 3Plan 4
Lump sum on the first confinement$1,500$3,000$3,000$4,000
Hospital injury indemnity$4,000$8,000$8,000$8,000
First confinement, days 2 to 6$5,000$5,000$15,000$20,000
Intensive careXXXX
Surgical$2,500$5,000$15,000$20,000
Anaesthesia$500$1,000$3,000$4,000
Daily room benefit$800$800$4,000$8,000
Private duty nurseXXXX
Emergency accidentXXXX
Doctor's office visitXXXX
Accidental death and dismembermentXXXX
Outpatient diagnostic procedureXXXX
Total benefit payment$14,300$22,800$48,000$64,000

This is the example that shows what the accident side of the policy is worth: the hospital injury indemnity alone pays $4,000 on Plan 1 and $8,000 on the other three, and it is paid in addition to the room benefit rather than instead of it.

Our note on this example: These are illustrations, not policyholders and not claims. They are the carrier's own worked examples, and they show what each of the four plan designs would have paid on the stay described — not what any real person received. The figures are from the Missouri and Nevada edition of the brochure, and of the states we are licensed in that is Nevada. Ask us for your own state's edition before relying on any number here.

Heart bypass, ten days in hospital with three in intensive care

The longest of the three. Intensive care pays for three days, the private duty nurse for all ten, and the daily room benefit for all ten.

Heart bypass, ten days in hospital with three in intensive care
BenefitPlan 1Plan 2Plan 3Plan 4
Lump sum on the first confinement$1,500$3,000$3,000$4,000
Hospital injury indemnityXXXX
First confinement, days 2 to 6$5,000$5,000$15,000$20,000
Intensive care$750$1,500$3,000$6,000
Surgical$2,500$5,000$15,000$20,000
Anaesthesia$500$1,000$3,000$4,000
Daily room benefit$1,000$1,000$5,000$10,000
Private duty nurse$1,000$1,000$3,000$5,000
Emergency accidentXXXX
Doctor's office visitXXXX
Accidental death and dismembermentXXXX
Outpatient diagnostic procedureXXXX
Total benefit payment$12,250$17,500$47,000$69,000

Compare this against the same surgery in the Central Choice example on this page. The two policies are built differently and a long stay with intensive care is where the difference shows.

Our note on this example: These are illustrations, not policyholders and not claims. They are the carrier's own worked examples, and they show what each of the four plan designs would have paid on the stay described — not what any real person received. The figures are from the Missouri and Nevada edition of the brochure, and of the states we are licensed in that is Nevada. Ask us for your own state's edition before relying on any number here.

Issue ages
The insured and spouse must be between 18 and 65 to apply. Family cover is available for unmarried dependent children under 26. Where a spouse is covered, the premium is set by the older of the two.
Underwriting
Simplified issue — health questions are asked on the application and an application can be declined. A telephone interview with the applicant may form part of underwriting. The company sets the effective date on approval; it is not the date the application was signed.
Availability
Guaranteed renewable.
Policy form
HIP-MO, HIP-NV. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Required disclosures from the carrier

THIS POLICY PROVIDES LIMITED BENEFITS.

This is not a complete disclosure of plan qualifications and limitations. The amounts of benefits provided depend on the plan selected. Premiums will vary according to the selection made.

What it costs

Monthly premium

Plan 1

Plan 1
Age at issueEmployeeEmployee and spouseEmployee and childrenFamily
18 to 39$47.60$87.90$82.98$123.28
40 to 59$64.65$121.85$100.03$157.23
60 to 65$74.85$142.10$110.23$177.48

Plan 2

Plan 2
Age at issueEmployeeEmployee and spouseEmployee and childrenFamily
18 to 39$67.50$127.40$120.09$179.99
40 to 59$93.75$179.60$146.34$232.19
60 to 65$109.90$211.60$162.49$264.19

Plan 3

Plan 3
Age at issueEmployeeEmployee and spouseEmployee and childrenFamily
18 to 39$136.60$263.95$245.61$372.96
40 to 59$186.50$362.63$295.51$471.64
60 to 65$220.60$429.70$329.61$538.71

Plan 4

Plan 4
Age at issueEmployeeEmployee and spouseEmployee and childrenFamily
18 to 39$215.08$420.16$386.94$592.02
40 to 59$291.05$570.60$462.91$742.46
60 to 65$347.10$681.20$518.96$853.06

Monthly premiums from the Missouri and Nevada edition of the carrier's brochure, transcribed 2026-09-23 and subject to change. Of the states this agency is licensed in, that edition covers Nevada. Where a spouse is covered the rate comes from the older of the two. Ask us for the brochure and rates for your own state rather than reading these as national.

What it pays

Manhattan Life — Out-of-Pocket Protection Plan

Every figure below is transcribed from ManhattanLife Out-of-Pocket Protection Plan brochure GAP15-BR 0320, with underwriting and policy terms from the Nevada application for insurance GAP15AP-NV 0515. Benefits, riders and amounts vary by state, and the policy issued to you governs.

Optional rider

Does this apply in your state?

Everything set out above is transcribed from the Nevada edition of this company's material — the policy form number carries the state in it. The way the policy is built is the product's, and it is why the design is worth comparing. The exact amounts, the riders on offer and the availability are that state's, and they can differ where you live.

Tell us your state and we will check it and send you the documents that apply to you. Call (424) 295-0627, or use the form at the bottom of this page.

Issue ages
Individual, individual and children, individual and spouse or domestic partner, or family. The documents we hold state no minimum issue age; what they state is when it ends, which is the number that matters here — see the renewal terms.
Underwriting
Fully underwritten on the application, and more searchingly than anything else on this page. Everyone must have been performing normal activities and actively at work full time for the past 30 days. The application asks whether anyone has been declined for insurance, has surgery advised but not yet done, has been treated for elevated blood pressure in the last 12 months, is pregnant, or has been treated by a physician at all in the last 12 months — and then runs a five-year look-back over thirty-six named conditions, from cancer and heart disease to Crohn's, multiple sclerosis, uncorrected hernia and uncorrected cataracts. A telephone interview may form part of underwriting and may be used to decline the application.
Availability
CONDITIONALLY renewable, which is not the same promise the other policies on this page make. What the brochure says it means: the policy cannot be cancelled because your health changed or because of how many times it has paid — but the right to renew runs only until the earlier of becoming insured under Medicare or reaching age 69, and in California age 65 rather than 69. The company may change the rates on all policies of this class across the whole state.
Policy form
C-GAPJ15, C-GAPJ15-LA, C-GAPJ15-OK, C-GAPJ15-TX. Form numbers and benefits vary by state.

Confirm this one before you sign

This does not appear in the sales brochure, and it changes what the policy is worth to you. Ask for it in writing, in the policy and the outline of coverage for your state, and do not take our word or anyone else's for it.

  • You sign a separate attestation that you already hold major medical cover. The application carries its own signature block certifying that you are buying this “as a supplement or in addition to other major medical health insurance coverage, also known as Minimum Essential Coverage”. None of the other applications on this page ask you to sign that separately. If you do not hold major medical coverage, do not sign it — speak to us, or price a Marketplace plan first at the links at the top of this page.

Required disclosures from the carrier

THIS HOSPITAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE PLAN IS A SUPPLEMENT TO HEALTH INSURANCE AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MAJOR MEDICAL COVERAGE. LACK OF MAJOR MEDICAL COVERAGE (OR OTHER MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE) MAY RESULT IN AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT WITH YOUR TAXES.

THIS POLICY PROVIDES LIMITED BENEFITS.

Conditionally renewable to age 69 (in CA, age 65) - Your Policy cannot be canceled regardless of changes in health or the number of times benefits are received. You have the right to renew this Policy until the earliest of when You become insured under Medicare or attain age 69 (in CA, age 65) if You pay the correct premium when due or within the Grace Period. The Company reserves the right to change the rates on all policies of this class in the entire state.

Benefits and riders may vary by state and may not be available in all states.

This is not a complete disclosure of plan qualifications and limitations. Please access our website to obtain a completed list for the Out-of-Pocket Protection Plan product at disclosure.manhattanlife.com. Please review this information before applying for coverage. The amounts of benefits provided depend on the plan selected. Premiums will vary according to the selection made.

Questions we get asked

About this product

How is this different from the hospital indemnity on your Medicare pages?

Age, mostly, and the exact ages differ. Two of the three policies here stop at 65 and the third stops at the earlier of Medicare or 69, 65 in California. Our supplemental page carries two more: one guaranteed issue from 64½ to 75 and bought alongside Medicare, and one issued from 18 all the way to 89 and guaranteed renewable for life. So the hand-off is not as clean as it looks, and that is in your favour: under 64½ you have four to choose from, and one of those is the only one you will never have to replace. Ask us to put them beside each other.

Does it pay if I am not admitted?

Mostly not — the core of the policy is hospital confinement. There are riders that reach beyond it: outpatient sickness, emergency accident, routine screening and outpatient surgery at an ambulatory centre. But if you are looking for something that pays for ordinary doctor visits and prescriptions, this is not it, and fixed indemnity coverage on our other page is closer.

Is the surgery benefit the same everywhere?

No, and it is the one thing that genuinely differs by state. Most states get a Daily Surgical Benefit, which pays for each day of a confinement in which surgery happens, up to five days, reduced to a quarter for outpatient surgery at an ambulatory centre. Colorado and New Mexico get a traditional surgical schedule instead, which pays the same whether you are admitted or not. Both are described below.

Which states can you write these in?

Central Choice reaches twelve of the seventeen we are licensed in — it is not written in Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Utah or Washington, and a few states drop individual riders, the Specified Injury Rider being unavailable in Georgia and North Carolina. The FirstChoice brochure we hold is the Missouri and Nevada edition, so of our states its schedule and rates are Nevada's. Other states have their own editions; ask and we will get the right one rather than let you read across from this.

Why is there only one rate for every age?

Because the premiums are composite rated rather than set by age, which is unusual and worth knowing. A 24-year-old and a 60-year-old in the same state on the same plan pay the same. That makes it comparatively poor value young and comparatively good value in your late fifties and early sixties.

Know someone who needs this?

Under-65 coverage is the part of this that nobody explains, and the people who need it are usually working out on their own. Send them the page.

Ask what this would cost you

Tell us your state and roughly what you are dealing with. If a Marketplace plan is the better answer for you we will say so — it costs us nothing to be straight about that and it costs you a great deal if we are not.

This is a solicitation of insurance and a licensed insurance agent may contact you. ECOS Insurance Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by any government agency, the Health Insurance Marketplace or HealthCare.gov.