By buying a critical illness plan to cover catastrophic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, heart attack and stroke, you can use the money on whatever you want to… Doctor or hospital, gasoline or mileage, and motel rooms … the money is paid directly to you in addition to any other health insurance plan you may have. These plans can offset high deductibles and co-insurance amounts. When you contract a catastrophic illness, you have a total loss of income and by having critical illness plan, bankruptcy can hopefully be avoided.