Origin story
The dreaded F word. Fear. It’s gotten a bad rap these days as the inhibitor of authenticity, the preventer of pursuing our dreams. And it’s true, fear can absolutely hold us back from striving for more in our lives.
I, for one, am a big believer in living an enlivened life.
Though while some fears are alleviated through a simple mindset shift, other fears require actions in the external world to give us the peace of mind we need to thrive.
For example: if I get hit by a bus, and I’m without health insurance in America, I will be up Schitt’s creek with medical bills.
And sometimes health insurance isn’t even enough, particularly for small business owners, self employed, and other types of independent workers.
Case in point: my dad, who had a stroke last year, had to immediately go back to work in order not to lose his business. It was tough.
I’m convinced that no amount of meditation will help me fully alleviate the fear of going medically bankrupt due to a freak accident or sudden disease.
So what’s the solution to alleviate this most valid of fears?
Health Insurance. Why does the mere mention of that thing make me cringe on the inside? Well, besides the fact I don’t want to imagine being hospitalized or included as one of the “sick ones”…I also think about how damn expensive it is, how shady health insurance companies are, and how they make you feel like a mooch in your biggest time of need and deny claims 20% of the time leaving you with a massive bill to deal with anyway.
I know I’ll be overpaying because they are middlemen needing to feed their large operation, and frankly, most of what they cover I don’t need. I’m a generally healthy person in my mid 30s, thankfully don’t go to the doctor for much more than an annual checkup and the occasional telehealth visit for something that pops up. I know Big Insurance isn’t telling me up front ultimately what will and will not be covered. I also know that there are likely hidden fees in there somewhere a la Southwest Airlines, and that if heaven forbid I have a terrible health issue at some point it's going to really suck dealing with them.
So Eff them! But eff me if I don’t have them 😇. So the only option I have is to pick the lesser of two evils…seems like we’re always doing that these days.
Option 1) Do nothing, live with fear
Option 2) Do something, live with less fear and deal with a shitty experience
But wait. Are there really only two options? Do I really need to hold my nose, sign up to Health Insurance, and immediately try to forget the mediocre choice I just had to make?
I went on a research extravaganza to see what else was out there, exploring alternative models to health insurance including COBRA, short term insurance, and even Christian health shares.
It all seemed overly complicated. I mean, what’s the big deal about insurance anyway? Isn’t it literally just a bunch of us agreeing to donate to one another when we need it?
The fact that Health Insurance is a massive $1 trillion industry is absurd given how simple it can be, particularly when employing modern technology and cutting out the massive bureaucracy of health insurance.
Introducing CYA
CYA is a members club that pays cash and fights hospital bills when catastrophic $hit happens.
$38 monthly membership. Join anytime.
Donations are 100% pre-committed, decentralized. 50% of your monthly membership are held in your CYA account and earmarked for donations to other members, and will never be used by CYA for any reason other than payouts to qualifying Members.
Cash payouts for accidents (+ critical illness). So when costly medical expenses unexpected things happen, the community's got your back, 100%.
Accident Payout: $200 Urgent Care, $5k Emergency Room, $10k Outpatient Surgery $50k Inpatient (hospitalization)
Critical Illness Payout: COMING SOON
Fast, cash transfers. Receive lump sum of cash within 48 hours for medical costs or anything else.
Hospital bill negotiation. We use technology and trained medical bill negotiators to help negotiate down your hospital bills anywhere from 30-85%!
In a nutshell, CYA gives you peace of mind that for any bad thing that can happen that results in medical expenses, we will support you. Period. What this also means is that we aren’t focusing on providing financial assistance for your acne treatments, cosmetic surgeries, or maternity. This is really meant to be a safety net for when $hit hits the fan.
If you identify as one of the following, CYA could be a great fit for you :)
Independent worker (self employed, freelancers, gigster) who need to secure their own healthcare coverage
Small business owners wanting to get some cover themselves and offer an affordable benefit for your employees
People in between jobs who no longer are covered by your employer
Employee with a high deductible plan who wants more coverage “just in case” without having to reach the deductible
Users of Direct Primary Care / primary care (Parsley, Forward, Mira) that want to supplement primary care with ‘catastrophic’ coverage
Foreigner visiting the US from abroad for an extended period and need your ass covered ‘just in case’
Students not fully covered by your university
Adventurous people who want better coverage, particularly if your current plan doesn’t cover adventure sports or international medical expenses
Uninsured people who want some basic Cover Your Ass coverage
With a health care system that is downright unsustainable, we need to seek new, alternative solutions that are affordable, and give you the peace of mind required to live your life fully.
Live boldly, and we’ll cover your ass!
David
