Jerry Stiller Died This Week



Jerry Stiller was an actor, a father, and a grandfather. He was loved by many and was a part of the beloved Seinfeld. Jerry was 92 when he passed away. That is a long life. His son, Ben Stiller, is probably one of my favorite actors.

May Jerry rest in peace and his family will be in our prayers.

Now, how does this relate to health insurance?

Famous actors like Jerry and Ben have access to really good health insurance through SAG. I know this because I used to work for Anthem Blue Cross, and SAG is a customer. Though I don’t know what type of health insurance Jerry had, his death made me curious.

If people have access to great health insurance, what type of plans would they pick?
Would cost play a role?



I was able to pull a small sample size and compare the data with my customer data. 

I ran a poll on my Instagram a few weeks ago, before Jerry passed away to see what type of plans people prefer when it comes to health insurance. 

The question I asked was, “If money wasn’t an issue, would you rather have an HMO or a PPO?”

Here are the results:

• 76% said they would rather have a PPO

• 24% said HMO

This shows that the majority of people would choose a Preferred Provider Organization, which allows you to visit whatever in-network physician or healthcare provider you wish without first requiring a referral from a primary care physician and less than a quarter prefer HMO (Health Maintenance Organization), which offer a wide range of healthcare services through a network of providers who agree to supply services to members.

Health insurance is incredibly important because life can be unpredictable and it’s crucial to protect yourselves and family members.

When it comes to what people actually buy:

84% of my customers are HMO

16% are PPO

A big difference between what people say versus what people buy.

The second question I asked was, What would you rather have, a low copay HMO or a high deductible PPO?

75% said HMO

25% said PPO

These numbers are a lot closer to my customer numbers

Then I asked, What would you rather select, A $100 a month for a good HMO or $350 for a good PPO?

69% said HMO

31% said PPO

The last question was, What factors influenced your decisions? Here are some of the response:

Usage

Seeing love ones die because of poor health and not using their health insurance

Easy access 

Convenience

Stuck waiting for approvals

Ability to go anywhere I want

Previous experience with HMOs vs. PPO

I’m assuming that Jerry probably had a really good medicare supplement plan. Used Medicare as a PPO and bought extra coverage to cover any extra cost Medicare didn’t cover. But I could be wrong. What I learned from this small experiment is that people will make decisions based on cost. I also learned that some people are willing to spend at least $2500 more a year for convenience. 

May Jerry Stiller rest in peace.