The Bridge Plan.
Real cash protection from $89/month — on top of your plan, between plans, or on its own.
On top of your planVery helpful if you have a high deductible
Between plansJob changes, COBRA gaps, a missed window
On its ownProtect your downside instead of nothingWellward Bridge Plan
Cash benefits paid to you if a covered event happens:
Accidentup to$20,000
Heart attackup to$20,000Strokeup to$20,000
Comaup to$20,000
Cancerup to$30,000Underwritten by an A+ rated carrier (AM Best & S&P Global, and publicly traded member of the S&P 500).Pays cash directly to you · No deductible on the benefit
Cash paid directly to youNo deductible
No medical exam to applySign up in minutesA+ rated carrierOne product to fill the gaps
Which gap are you covering?
Pick the one that best matches your situation.
I have a Bronze or Catastrophic plan
Your premium is low because your deductible is high (up to $10,600 for individuals or $21,200 for families). If you have a major event, the Bridge Plan pays cash — when you need it the most.
I'm between plans right now
Between jobs, facing expensive COBRA, or missed Open Enrollment? Protection for the in-between — and we'll help you enroll in a full plan when the next window opens.
I've opted out of full-priced coverage
The Bridge Plan is an affordable way to protect your downside. If your health status changes, we can get you on to a full medical insurance plan at the next available opportunity.
The layer, not the enemy
Even good insurance has gaps.
This layer closes them.
A well-chosen Bronze or Catastrophic plan caps your downside in a bad year — but leaves a deductible and out-of-pocket maximum you'd feel. A job change leaves weeks or months without employer-sponsored coverage. And some people, having done the math, carry no full plan at all. The Bridge Plan helps in all three cases: cash benefits, paid directly to you, when something big happens and you have expenses.
Paying your deductible
Cash lands if you have a major event, which you can use towards your deductible, for out-of-network care, or just to help your finances during a difficult time.
Between your plans
Starts on your schedule, and gives you a cost-effective way to get financial protection, with cash benefits that can cover care until your next plan starts.
When you've opted out
Cash benefits you can spend on self-pay care, without the hassle of network restrictions, prior authorizations, or anything else.
When it pays out
Cash for the big things
If one of these happens, you receive the full cash benefit, paid directly to you.
Deductible on benefitsNothing to clear before the benefit pays$0AccidentThe amount depends on the covered injuryUp to$20,000Heart attackUp to$20,000StrokeUp to$20,000ComaUp to$20,000CancerHighest benefitUp to$30,000These benefits pay in addition to any other coverage you have. If your plan is paying the hospital, this is still paying you.
Underwritten by Everest
Everest Reinsurance Company — a publicly traded member of the S&P 500, among the most experienced and well-capitalized underwriters in the world. Benefits, limitations and exclusions are governed by the policy documents.
Where the Bridge Plan fits
Four situations, and what
we’d actually tell you.
Bronze or Catastrophic plan
The exposed edge
The deductible — often $6,000–$10,000+ before your plan pays
What we’d tell you
Add the Bridge Plan so a major event puts cash in your hand. And use our tool to check that your Bronze or Catastrophic plan is the most efficient one for you.
Quoted for COBRA
The exposed edge
Typically over 4x what you were paying previously for coverage
What we’d tell you
Run your Short List first — a marketplace plan often beats COBRA. The Bridge Plan can help protect you while you decide, or if the gap is short. Get my Short List
Missed Open Enrollment, no qualifying event
The exposed edge
You can't buy an ACA plan right now at any price
What we’d tell you
The Bridge Plan is protection in the meantime — and we'll help you enroll in a full medical plan the day the window opens.
No plan, by choice
The exposed edge
One diagnosis, unlimited exposure
What we’d tell you
If a Short List plan fits your budget, buy it.
Premium and deductible ranges are national averages (KFF). The COBRA multiple compares KFF's average total premium with the average employee contribution. Your actual costs vary by age, location, and plan.
The name
It’s called the Bridge
for a reason.
A bridge spans a gap — the gap under your deductible, the gap between two plans, the gap between nothing and something.
01
Cash now
Against the events that actually bankrupt people. The money lands in your account fast, with no deductible to clear on the benefit and no network to stay inside.
02
A bridge between plans
Job changes, COBRA gaps, a missed window. Fixed protection that starts and stops on your schedule, with our team ready to enroll you in a full plan the moment you can.
03
A bridge across your deductible
If you carry a Bronze or Catastrophic plan, the deductible is the part of a bad year you feel first. A covered event pays you cash you can put toward it.
No spin
The honest comparison.
Including the rows where the Bridge Plan loses. For a lot of people the honest answer is to get a low-premium medical insurance plan that saves them hundreds a month plus the Bridge Plan.
Monthly cost
Cap on your worst year
Cash in hand on a major event
Routine and ongoing care
Pre-existing conditions
Network
The one that matters most
A medical plan caps your worst year. The Bridge Plan alone does not. If you can only afford one, the capped one wins.
The Bridge Plan is at its best on top of that cap, or when a plan genuinely isn't available to you. Start by seeing what a low-premium plan would actually cost you.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
Important required disclosures
The Wellward Bridge Plan is fixed-benefit coverage. It is not major medical insurance, is not minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and does not satisfy any requirement to maintain such coverage.
If you have major medical coverage, the Bridge Plan supplements it — it is never a substitute for it, and buying it is not a reason to drop or skip a plan that fits your budget.
Benefits are fixed dollar amounts paid to you on a covered event, regardless of the cost of care. They are not tied to and do not track your deductible or any amount you owe a provider. Pre-existing condition limitations, waiting periods, and other limitations and exclusions apply. Benefits are underwritten by Everest Reinsurance Company; policy documents govern. Availability varies by state. Enrollment in an ACA plan is only possible during Open Enrollment or after a qualifying life event.
- This is not major medical insurance. It does not replace an ACA plan, and it is not a substitute for one.
- It does not satisfy any coverage requirement, and it is not minimum essential coverage.
- There is no out-of-pocket maximum. A long or complicated illness can cost far more than these benefits pay, and nothing here caps what you owe.
- It pays a fixed cash amount for covered events only. It does not pay your medical bills, and it does not negotiate them.
- Everyday care — doctor visits, prescriptions, tests — is not covered at all.
- Pre-existing conditions, waiting periods and exclusions apply. The policy document is what governs.
Underwritten by Everest (A+ AM Best, S&P 500). Wellward is a licensed agency, not the insurer.
Cover your gap.
One product, three jobs — $89/month of cash protection wherever your coverage has a gap.
Want comprehensive medical coverage instead? See your Short List here for the most efficient plans.