Planstin Guided Series Insurance Plans
With a Planstin Guided Series plan, you give your team real catastrophic protection, smarter healthcare spending, and a way to pay nothing out of pocket for eligible coordinated care.
By Wiley Long III, President – HSA for America
Reviewed by Whitney Kline – Fact checked by Misty Berryman – Updated 10/6/2026
Request a Planstin Guided Series Group Quote
Choose your state to see your rates and enroll online in minutes, or schedule a free consultation if you would rather be guided through it.
$2 Million
Annual maximum benefit on every Guided plan
2 Employees
Minimum group size, and it scales to 500+
$0
Out-of-pocket path on Ethos with coordinated care
No Waiting
No pre-existing condition waiting periods
Planstin Guided Series Offers Two Plans
Planstin Guided Ethos
The plan that can take out-of-pocket costs to zero.
- Care coordination waives the $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance on eligible services
- $2 million maternity complications benefit
- 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period, with a 24-month look-back
- Can stand alone, or pair with a preventive co-pay plan for everyday care
Planstin Guided Align
The HSA-compatible plan with even lower rates.
- HSA-compatible structure, with an HSA gateway minimum of $1,700 (employee-only) or $3,400 (other enrollment tiers)
- $2 million maternity complications benefit
- 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period, with a 24-month look-back
- Designed to pair with the HSA-MEC plan for a complete solution
How Planstin Guided Series Compares With Traditional Insurance
| Feature | Traditional Major Medical | Planstin Guided Series |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity complications benefit | Varies by plan | $2 million |
| Pre-existing conditions | No waiting periods | 12-month waiting period, 24-month look-back |
| Path to $0 out-of-pocket | No | Yes, on Guided Ethos — waives the $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance with care coordination |
| Section 125 pre-tax option | Yes | Yes |
| Predictable spending | Renewal increases are common | Designed for predictable, controlled costs |
Why Employers Are Choosing the Planstin Guided Series
Healthcare costs remain one of the biggest challenges your business faces.
Traditional family health insurance often costs over $2,000/mo, and many alternatives that promise relief come with catches. Maybe pre-existing conditions gave you pause. Maybe a plan you liked was not available in your state, or could not run through a Section 125 plan for pre-tax savings.
The Planstin Guided Series was built to solve those exact problems. Both plans are insurance-based, include a $2 million maternity complications benefit, apply a 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period with a 24-month look-back, and give your employees broad provider flexibility for major medical needs like surgery, hospitalization, and maternity care.
Because the Guided Series is built around major medical protection rather than everyday care, Planstin recommends pairing it with a preventive plan. Guided Ethos can stand on its own or pair with a preventive co-pay plan, while Guided Align is designed to pair with a preventive HSA plan. MEC stands for Minimum Essential Coverage, the baseline layer of preventive benefits recognized under the ACA, and the right pairing handles everyday care while your Guided plan handles the big claims.
Planstin Guided Ethos vs. Guided Align
| Feature | Guided Ethos | Guided Align |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Minimizing out-of-pocket costs | Employers with an HSA strategy |
| $0 out-of-pocket path | Yes — waives $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance with care coordination | No |
| HSA-compatible | No | Yes — $1,700 (employee-only) / $3,400 (other tiers) HSA gateway minimum |
| Maternity complications benefit | $2 million | $2 million |
| Pre-existing waiting periods | 12-month wait, 24-month look-back | 12-month wait, 24-month look-back |
| Care coordination | Included, unlocks cost waivers | Included as member support |
| Provider access | Broad flexibility | Broad flexibility |
| Recommended pairing | Preventive co-pay plan (optional) | HSA-MEC plan |
The choice is simple. If HSA compatibility matters most, Align is your plan. If driving out-of-pocket costs toward zero matters most, Ethos is the better fit.
Care Coordination: The Benefit That Pays You Back
Every Guided Series membership includes care coordination, and it does far more than answer questions.
Your employees get a guide who helps them find high-quality, cost-effective care instead of navigating the healthcare system alone. On Guided Ethos, that same guidance is the key that unlocks a waived $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance, so an employee can welcome a new baby or handle a major procedure with nothing out of pocket on eligible services.
Employers win too. Coordinated care means smarter utilization, more predictable spending, and Guided plan claims that stay off your claims fund report. Add Section 125 pre-tax optionality and the HSA pairing on Align, and the Guided Series becomes a genuinely tax-efficient benefits strategy.
How to Get Started with Planstin Guided Series
Talk to us.
Schedule a free group health analysis with a Personal Benefits Manager (2 employees minimum).
Pick your strategy.
Guided Ethos can stand alone or pair with a preventive co-pay plan for everyday care. Guided Align is designed to pair with the HSA-MEC plan for a complete HSA strategy.
Enroll your team.
Complete the online employer registration through Planstin’s enrollment portal to get started.
Use the plan.
Ethos members engage care coordination to unlock a waived $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance on eligible services.
Request a Planstin Guided Series Group Quote
Choose your state to see your rates and enroll online in minutes. If you would rather talk it through first, a Personal Benefits Manager can go through your options with you at no cost and with no obligation.
Or call us directly: 800-913-0172
Planstin Guided Series Pros & Cons
Pros
- Catastrophic protection with a $2 million maternity complications benefit and broad provider flexibility on both plans, covering major medical needs like surgery, hospitalization, and maternity.
- Insurance-based structure with familiar terms your employees already understand.
- Affordable rates relative to traditional major medical, with Align priced lower still.
- Works for groups from 2 or more employees to 500+, including applicable large employers.
- Broad provider flexibility on both plans.
Cons
- Built for catastrophic protection, not everyday care, so a paired preventive plan is recommended and adds a second component to administer.
- On Ethos, the $0 out-of-pocket path applies only to eligible services, only when care is coordinated first, and specifically waives a $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance, not all costs.
- A 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period applies, with a 24-month look-back.
- Maternity benefits apply only to employee/spouse or employee/family enrollment tiers, not employee-only.
- Not a replacement for Medicare for employees 65 and older.
For Further Reading
See how group health sharing stacks up against a traditional plan if you want to compare costs before deciding.
Pair Guided Align with an HRA to add another layer of tax-advantaged savings for your team.
Planstin Guided Series FAQs
Q: What is the Planstin Guided Series?
A: The Guided Series is a pair of employer group health plans from Planstin: Guided Ethos and Guided Align. Both are built around catastrophic protection, with a $2 million maternity complications benefit, a 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period with a 24-month look-back, care coordination support, and broad provider flexibility for your employees.
Q: How does the path to $0 out-of-pocket work with Planstin Guided Series?
A: When a Guided Ethos member engages care coordination before receiving eligible services, the plan waives the $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance for those services. The member pays nothing out of pocket. If a member skips the coordination step, the standard $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance apply instead.
Q: What group sizes qualify for Planstin Guided Series?
A: Groups of 2 or more employees can enroll in the Guided Series. The plans also scale up well. Large employers, including applicable large employers with hundreds of employees, are combining Guided plans with preventive plans to lower overall benefit costs.
Q: What is the difference between Planstin Guided Ethos and Guided Align?
A: Guided Ethos waives a $5,000 deductible and 20% coinsurance on eligible services when members use care coordination, creating a path to $0 out-of-pocket, and it can stand alone or pair with a preventive co-pay plan. Guided Align is built for HSA strategies, requires an HSA gateway minimum of $1,700 (employee-only) or $3,400 (other tiers), and is typically priced lower. Choose Align for HSA compatibility, and choose Ethos to minimize out-of-pocket costs.
Q: Do Planstin Guided Series plans have pre-existing condition waiting periods?
A: Yes. Both Guided Ethos and Guided Align apply a 12-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions, with a 24-month look-back period. This is standard on both plans and applies from your effective date, so it’s worth planning around if an employee has an ongoing condition.
Q: Can employees who are 65 or older enroll or stay enrolled in Planstin Guided Series?
A: The Guided Series includes rates for members 65 and older, and employees already enrolled can remain on the plan after they turn 65. These plans are not a replacement for Medicare, so older employees should still review their Medicare options with an advisor.
What Our Clients Say
We have helped over 16 thousand people find health insurance or a health sharing plan.
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Have More Questions?
You can see your rates and enroll online whenever you are ready. If you would rather have questions answered first, schedule a time with one of our Personal Benefits Managers. They can make sure you are on the lower cost membership that fits your household, and get you enrolled.
It is a short conversation, and you will finish it with your questions answered.
For over 20 years we have helped individuals, families, and small businesses find better healthcare at a lower cost.
Phone: 800-913-0172
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm MT
Request a Planstin Guided Series Group Quote
Choose your state to see your rates and enroll online in minutes, or schedule a free consultation if you would rather be guided through it.
Or call 800-913-0172
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