Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company
This review is for the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company. A subsidiary of the New Era Life Insurance Companies, the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company (also known as the Philadelphia American Life Insurance Company) offers life and health insurance products for individuals.
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There are two different health insurance products offered through the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company, and this review will cover both of them. It will not cover the annuities program and life insurance coverage offered by the company.
Founded in 1924, the Philadelphia American Life Insurance Company prides itself on good, honest customer service, and providing their customers with care and compassion.
Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company Locations
The main corporate office of the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company is located at:
11720 Katy Freeway, Suite 1700
Houston, Texas
In addition, there is a satellite office located in Omaha, Nebraska.
The primary telephone contact numbers for the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company are 1-800-552-7879 and 1-800-554-0092. Customer service for the company can also be reached by email at home@neweralife.com.
Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company Products
The Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company offers four different products for individuals, with two of them focusing on health insurance.
The products are:
- Medicare supplement product
- Life insurance for final expenses
- Annuities
- Traditional health insurance
For the purpose of this review, we will focus on the Medicare Supplement and the regular health insurance.
The Medicare Supplement Insurance is designed to help individuals meet their own specific health care coverage needs.
The coverage includes both Medicare Part A and Medical Part B coverage, and certain individuals who opt for the additional covers can have their Part A and Part B deductibles covered as well.
In addition, the Medicare Supplement Insurance through the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company offers coverage for time in a skilled nursing setting as well as required health care services when outside the United States.
The other health insurance coverage provided through the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company gives individuals and their families’ coverage during a job transition, in-between jobs, or at any other time coverage is needed.
There are three different products available, and each of them provides coverage for certain conditions.
The Health Saver Plus One product gives families the option of securing health insurance at an affordable rate. This plan allows customers to design the coverage based on their individual needs as well as their families’ needs.
The second product is the Critical Illness One coverage, which helps individuals cover the expenses that might come from a serious illness or accident.
The coverage through the Critical Illness Insurance gives covered individuals a lump sum cash benefit of up to $50,000 depending on the illness. Some of the illnesses that are covered include:
- Needed organ transplant
- Bypass surgery
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Renal failure
There is also the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company 24-Hour Accident Expense Plan. This coverage offers benefits to customers who must cover expenses associated with an unexpected and catastrophic accident.
These benefits not only help cover medical expenses, but everyday living expenses as well. In addition, covered individuals and their families are compensated for an accidental death, transportation by ambulance or helicopter, as well as complete or partial dismemberment.
Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company Reviews
The Philadelphia American Health Insurance has earned a rating of B+ from the A.M. Best Company for financial strength.
However, the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and has been given a rating of F by the BBB.
The reason for the F rating is because there was one complaint filed against the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company, but it was never addressed.
Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company Careers
There is no information available on the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company about careers or employment opportunities. This could be because there are currently no opportunities available at any of the three companies, or because they do not advertise their positions online.
Individuals that are interested in applying for a job with the Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company are encouraged to contact the main office to inquire about any open positions.
In addition, applicants can send a letter of interest and resume to the corporate office in Houston, Texas.
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28 Comments to “Philadelphia American Health Insurance Company”
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Odete Phares says:
“The insurance has been great for me, much better than anything I have found on the “”new”” insurance plans.
These plans are designed for real people. I didn’t expect to need to use it but I did and they paid off quickly and staff are great to deal with.”
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LEONARD FITZMAURICE says:
“STILL NO CUSTOMER OPPORTUNITY FOR ON-LINE PAYMENTS OR ABILITY TO REVIEW HISTORIES OF USE ETC., HENCE CUSTOMERS HAVE LITTLE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF INSURANCE COVERAGE.
IF I WERE TO TAKE A CYNICAL VIEW I WOULD THINK THE LACK OF AVAILABILITY TO ANALYZE IS SELF SERVING.”
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Adam Hyp says:
“Philadelphia American Insurance was a horrible experience and waste of money.
Not only did they not correspond timely, or at all in most cases. They seemed to always find a way not to cover the visit, procedure, or script.
Go anywhere else. I did and am happier for it”
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melody says:
“Our experience with this insurance company was horrible.
After my husband was in a bad vehicle accident (not at fault) We ended up with around $9,000 in hospital bills. This insurance company paid about $400. total. The paperwork was endless and we were sent the same paperwork multiple times.
Needless to say, I cancelled it. Make sure you understand every bit of fine print! They don’t cover many things and their drug coverage is a joke.”
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Carol says:
“Remember that if you buy a plan like this that you still need to pay the tax penalty for not having a qualified health insurance plan. For 2016, it is 2.5% of your annual income.
Also, companies that sell non-qualified plans are happy to pay smaller claims for years just to keep you paying your premium. It is when you have the big claims that you find out what you really have. It may not be what you thought you had, but it is too late if you have a big claim or serious illness.
Please READ your policy when it arrives. Most states have a 30 period where you cancel and get a full refund if the policy doesn’t say what you thought it would”
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Kathleen M. Machado says:
“On November 16, 2015, I received a partial reimbursement of $974.04 for unearned premiums which you took from my checking account. The insurance policy 6071523436 was cancelled February 01, 2015, yet you continued deducting the premium from my checking account. After the cancellation, you paid expenses of $323.05.
I feel it is your responsibility to recover the $323.05 from whoever you paid since you were in error in continuing to collect unauthorized premiums from me.
I believe medicare would agree with me as would a small claims court if that is where the matter must be resolved. Thank you, Kathie Machado
30285 N. East End Ave., Libertyville, Illinois 60048
847 641 0296” -
Mark Machado says:
“Well, where to begin….
I am very familiar with insurance terms as I am in the financial industry.
Ignorance is bliss, many people are uneducated or badly informed about the health insurance business. There are different types of policies, different plans for each type, exclusions, clauses, approval and denial and preexisting conditions.
First I am going to address a couple of the non-sense bad reviews here:
Melody,
If you are in an auto accident (at fault or not) it is a liability issue not a health insurance issue, most companies do not even have a clause to cover from auto accidents, so your claim is to be handled by the auto insurance company.Adam,
There are many of opportunities for you to review how this policy works, first, you said “”did not respond timely”” well, and they by law have a window of time to respond to claims, “”if”” they have all the requested documents to support a claim! Second, you say they found ways not to pay, well there are exclusions as in any policy but a major one is no preexisting conditions to be covered for the first 12 months, this one is easily missed or blown off!! This is not Obamacare so not everything is covered! Hence why you pay a 3rd of the premium.Carol,
Doesn’t sound like you had a big claim, so you are just speculating! I have this policy and they paid a great benefit for a hospitalization and surgery I had!! Also, you are incorrect about the penalty, you can add a rider for minimum essential benefits and avoid the penalty.
Kathleen,Hummm, sounds like a messy situation, in all companies mistakes and errors happen, if this was an error on their part I am positive they will fix it.
I have this plan, it has saved me about 10,000 per year from Obama crap care! My family and I came in healthy to the plan, I hurt my shoulder and needed surgery, my son busted his ACL in football and my wife needed some testing. I purchased their most expensive plan (still a third of the cost of ACA)
They pay first instead of deductible first, your non-hospital needs only have a $50!!!!! Deductible and you don’t pay it until after your 3rd visit. The hospitalization deductible can be as high as 5k or low as $100, but they take it off the end payout so you don’t have to pay upfront. PPO network!
So my shoulder total surgery was $35,570.00 (in network) my total benefit was $42251.70 minus my $5000 deductible, total payable benefit of $37251.70, providers got paid their $35,570 so guess who got the balance??? ME! I received a check for $1681.70….you ask why??? Because it’s sold as an indemnity policy so they have to indemnify the entire payable benefit.
Bottom line I pay a third in premium, needed a surgery, I paid 0 deductible they paid all my providers and I got a check for the remainder benefit, I don’t think Obamacare does that! in fact with an ACA plan I would have been $6750 out for my deductible, then a 30% co-insurance plus unlimited amounts for out of network providers (HMO) and higher monthly so yeah…Philadelphia saved me thousands!!!!!!!
Same thing for my son, but his was outpatient surgery so they waived the deductible (it’s in black and white in the brochure)
I pay separate for a minimum essential rider and pay no penalty from Obamacare.Bottom line is you must know what you are buying, you must understand what they don’t cover, you must do the math to make sense, and you must not blame the insurance company for your ignorance.”
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J Donahue says:
“Dear Mr. Machado,
Thanks so much for your response to the other inquiries regarding Philadelphia Health Insurance. Since I can no longer afford the rates under the Healthcare Marketplace, my agent recommended this company. I noticed that you also indicated in your response that you pay separate for a minimum essential rider and pay no penalty for Obamacare. Is this essential rider also through Philadelphia?
Could you please contact me to help me know what I need to do so that I am not charged a penalty for dropping Obamacare.
Thanks
jdhealthcareadvocate@gmail.com“ -
KB says:
“I have my Medicare supplement insurance through this company. They are not paying my claims promptly after Medicare pays their portion. In some cases, it is taking 6 months to get a claim paid. I cannot get through to customer service. After I’m placed in the queue forever, I am eventually cut off completely.
AVOID this company. They have an F rating from the BBB.”
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Jerry says:
“I’m from Oklahoma And just signed up with this company so I can’t give it a 5 star…yet. I will say this though they are pretty thorough and they call you to make sure you qualify and educate you how the policies work.
I saw some negative reviews above and it worried me a bit while I was researching stuff until my agent pointed out the reviews for companies like Blue Cross or United, (you know the big giant companies that everyone trusts) are far worse.
Ultimately it boils down to this, you and or your agent need to make you aware of the exclusions, which are similar to those in almost every policy whether it’s Blue Cross or Philadelphia American. And it’s not that difficult to read your policies, they are a few pages long and understandable, make sure you do read them.
And finally what a breath of fresh air that the networks much better than Blue Cross. All the hospitals/doctors we checked on in central Oklahoma are all in network, not to mention I’m paying literally half of what Blue Cross wants.
So far so good!”
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Monica Watson says:
“Policies are short term and non-renewable. Very difficult to get a hold of agents. Does not save from being penalized during tax season. Be sure to read the fine print.
Would NOT recommend at all. No no no. Wouldn’t even give them one star but zero stars is not an option.”
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“One bad review for this company is not enough. Refund check was sent to wrong address. What a surprise. Horrible policies, worse customer service. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!!!!!!!
Who do they get reported to? The Better Business Bureau?? I am going to find out.”
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Melanie Bailey says:
“This is the second time I’ve had insurance through them. They are a good company and it sounds to me like most of you needed an insurance agent to help you pick the correct coverage. If you had one then you obviously need a new one.
I used them before Obamacare. Tried going through the marketplace for a few years and the deductibles kept getting higher, the premiums kept getting higher and it was getting to the point where none of the plans were covering anything. So now I’m back with them. My suggestion is to get help finding a plan.”
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DJG says:
“Took short-term major medical off the Market, only indemnity Health Plan left. Go with big boys for insurancelike Blue Cross or somebody. I was looking to sell this stuff, I am an insurance agent, got Marketing Director on the phone we had a bad connection and he couldn’t understand what I was saying. he said an obscenity and slammed the phone down.
Easy to be an internet and phone bully. Hey, I from Houston where they are located, I bet if I went over there he wouldn’t mouth off in person like that.
This Old School rudeness and lack of professionalism-customer service won’t make it in today’s, society companies like this gonna be gone soon.”
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Bettty Johnson says:
“This company sold me a policy hiding behind a religious company who charges $45.00. Do not fall for this insurance company. They are a fraud.
I was in the hospital in January and they have had me under investigation since then. My hospital bill was 17,000.00 and they paid 9,000 and left the rest to me. I bought a 5,000 deductible policy and they are saying I have pre-existing illnesses.
I have now paid them 8,000 out of my pocket and they have not paid 1 penny towards any drugs or test. Annette Cullum was my agent and she misled me on all the policy payments.”
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Carlos Becker says:
“I’ve had this insurance for some time with a few claims. Every time I use it I have a great experience. Plus you can’t beat the premiums.
I recommend them.”
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Bill Paschall says:
I am an agent that represents Phil. American Life and have done so for the better part of 10 years. This is a fine company run by good, honest people. As an agent, I tell customers this is a plan where you, the customer have to do your part, mainly act like an adult and take responsibility. If you get a new TV set or computer, you have to become familiar with it, same thing here. Any just claim submitted they pay, its the law. For anyone who still has their doubts, go to this website which is run by the Texas Dept of Insurance. Here it is https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/pcci/pcci_search.jsp Scroll down to the number of CONFIRMED complaints and you will find very few or more likely NONE. As for you who had a bad experience, you probably should have done the responsible, adult thing, and read your policy when it arrived.
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Donnee Smith says:
Have Philadelphia as our Medicare Supplement insurance, got cancer, my husband had heart surgery all in the same year. We paid $40.00 out of pocket, everything else was covered. Love this company.
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Sheril Thompson says:
Please DO NOT TAKE OUT A CANCER POLICY with this company!!!! I have had this policy for 20 years and just recently had to use it for the first time, found out they don’t cover malignant SKIN CANCER. I called the BBB on them and they gave them a “F”! This is a terrible Insurance Company that doesn’t anything, and their customer service reps are not informed at all. The sad thing is I took it out in my school district so they like to take advantage of educators in thinking they are covered. Researching and it looks like American Fidelity would be a good trustworthy company definitely not Philadelphia American Insurance!!
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Joanne Ballato says:
“Worst Health Insurance ever!!! First off, none of my routine doctor visits were covered the first year. Then when they did decide to cover the doctor visit they only pay $60 I was then responsible for the remaining $140. If I didn’t have insurance my doctor would put me on self-pay and I’d only have to pay $90. So, it costs me more out of pocket to have insurance than not.
Second, when I called the insurance office to see what if any of my lab work is covered, they told me they would pay $125 towards the labs. Then when I get the lab bill I find they only paid $30, and there was a $30 “”discount”” and I was left with the remaining $64. Why be so deceitful and out and out lie to me?
Third, I called to cancell this POS in the middle of the monthly billing cycle and was told I would get a refund of the remaining month. After calling them several times, over a 2 week period to find out where the refund is, I’m told it will take 4 weeks to process. Seriously??? 4 weeks??? It doesn’t take them 24hrs to process debit to my bank account, why should I wait 4 weeks? When I ask to speak to a supervisor, they are miraculously all in a meeting. I was told someone would call me back and, of course, that never happened.
Forth, They don’t cover any pharmacy drugs. They sent me a “”discount card””. I got a better discount through GoodRx then through this company.
They also didn’t cover a flu shot that my doctor wanted me to get. Overall they covered hardly anything for the price I paid.I found out through my doctors, dentist and pharmacy that this is not “”real”” insurance but a discount plan. That is NOT what they said when I signed up for this.
So, here we are. I will write this review on every review site, social media site and medical insurance site I can find. Power to the word of mouth. I hope it spreads as fast as foot and mouth disease.”
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Jake Bowers says:
Every single one of these reviews would have been 5/5 stars had you been in contact with a broker that knows the kind of plan that fits you best. A lot of these reviews are stemming from anger in not knowing how to use the plan or thinking it’s going to cover more than it really will due to misinformation provided for you, FROM THE WRONG PERSON. If you want everything under the sun covered then make your way to an Obamacare plan, otherwise, get educated and make the right buying decisions as you would with a car, house, business loan, etc. Unfortunately, there are many corrupt and wrongful insurance agents in the industry that are ruining reputations of not only insurance companies but the good-hearted agents representing them as well. I urge everyone to do their due diligence as the buyer and make sure you aren’t rushing into any kind of insurance plans based on the premiums alone.
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Joseph Lane says:
I understand Obama Care has affected and worsened the health insurance industry as a whole but this was not good insurance for my wife and myself. We both are very healthy and hardly see a doctor but when we did, very little was paid beyond the visit, medicines were not discounted, and receiving checks back from the insurance company instead of applying those to expenses was just strange. Over the course of three years, paid $ 630.00 monthly, 22,680 in total and it is estimated the company paid about $ 1,500.00 towards claims and we never met the high deductible nor did we feel they would have ever paid in major medical claims and were lucky that no catastrophic event occurred. Fortunately, my employer began to offer health/medical insurance under a group plan, and we got much better and greater coverage with medicines discounted to offset costs.
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Patrick says:
My wife and I have had $30,000 in medical bills this year and we have paid NOTHING out of pocket. This company pays exactly what they say they pay! Nothing more and nothing less. And understand this, it is all by contract so there is no way they can pay less than what that contracted amount is without serious consequences to the company. My agent that educated me taught me very well about how this pays and we have had the best experience of any of our insurance we’ve had and better than ANY of our friends have ever experienced. We have followed the advice given to us and are careful to go to network providers and often pay cash for the small stuff and get reimbursed. It just doesn’t get any better than that! I would venture to say that the bad reviews are from people who didn’t understand their plan and most likely had pre-existing conditions that they expected a different outcome for. One last thing, with our bills this year we would have had a whole different experience with our former Obamacare plan. We dropped it when our premium went to $2,000/mo. What a joke! And we would have paid about $12,000 out of pocket this year had we still had it. Remember when people tell you how horrible their experience was, it has been my experience that most of them probably got on the plan with Philadelphia American to save money monthly. and couldn’t even pay their deductible in the event they encountered what we did. We have had plans with BCBS, United Health Care and others and would not only put our experience up against them but way above any other in our past. Thanks so much to the agent who shared this awesome company with us!
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Diane says:
“I have this insurance and it has been a blessing. I am paying 1/3 the cost of the market place plans. I have 21 Dr. visits a year with no copay’s! Any Dr.!
I am very healthy and I really just needed my yearly and just in case of accident or major illness. I understand this is not a major medical plan and my agent has picked plans to layer on the protection I may need for accident or major illness. I am self employed and was paying paying $1200 a month with a $5000 yearly deductible. I did my research and am very happy I made the switch last year…” -
Shin says:
WORST HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDER EVER!!!! When you call the Dr., list that they provided, they all say “we no longer accept because they do not pay!” They do have a long list of names of the Dr. in their Network; however, (bc I did not call all of them) most of them no longer accept the insurance. and it is your job to confirm that they will accept the insurance. I’m having to give them one star because you can’t go lower than one star. They need to start adding – stars to the rating scales.
James 
“I’ve had this insurance for about 2 years now and I think it is great. They pay claims immediately, and I don’t have to pay a large deductible first. It is the first time in my life I’ve had a company actually pay for some stuff.
I will never use a major medical company again!”