Health Insurance Benefits
A visit to the hospital is the last thing you think about when you’re healthy and working. However, life can take a sudden turn and ending up in hospital to remove your tonsils or appendix can actually happen. And those are just the ‘easier’ procedures you may have to face. The point is that a hospital visit can cost you an arm and a leg. No pun intended. To make sure you arm yourself properly for the unexpected, health insurance offers several benefits that may be worth investigating. Not only will your hospital stay and treatments be refunded, there may be other refunds too.
Health insurance in India is also known as mediclaim. It is medical insurance and is sold in the form of a policy by an insurance company. The policy is obtained by the insured paying a premium to an insurance agent or to the company directly. The policy is usually valid for a year, so it has to be renewed by paying the premium amount each year. The point of this is to help out during a medical emergency in the case where you may need to be hospitalised. Anyone can buy health insurance. However the premium amount will vary depending upon your age. The younger you are the lower the premium. Also most medical insurance requires you to take a medical exam, especially if you are past a certain age.
Even if you do not suffer from anything now, life can take an unexpected turn down the road. The cost of the annual premiums is usually more doable than having to foot any exorbitant bill you would receive from a hospital visit. The health insurance you take will cover any hospital stay for a day and night and more. Of course, this includes any treatment you would undergo as well, including expensive treatments that don’t require hospital stay like chemotherapy, dialysis, etc. The expenses for any nursing care, the fee for the doctor, surgeon, specialist, consultant and anaesthetist are all included. The cost of any blood transfusion, oxygen, tests like X-rays, charges for the operation theatre, ICU, the cost of organs for a transplant or artificial body parts, medicines and any drips are included. Of course, the ambulance ride will usually be part of the coverage.
Health insurance policies vary on their fringe benefits and if you read the fine print you may find that your policy has additional coverage. If your child is insured for instance, there may be a small stipend as the child’s caretaker. Sometimes if one is too unwell to undergo a hospital treatment, and the treatment takes place at home, this too is covered. Sometimes aids like new spectacles or hearing devices may be covered in the policy. Most policies do not cover a visit to the dentist but some do include it for a larger premium. Before hospitalisation itself there are a variety of expenses that may build up, like consultations, tests, etc. Some policies cover these for a certain number of days. The same is true for expenses that occur post a hospital stay, like check-ups, medicines, etc. Similarly these are covered for a certain number of days.