With India's increasing healthcare costs, any illness or medical emergency might drain one's bank account. As a result, owning a health insurance coverage is the greatest approach to ensure that a person and his or her family are financially secure in the event of any unforeseen circumstances. Choosing the best health insurance plan may be a difficult endeavor, especially with so many options available. But don't worry, here are some of the tips that will help you find the best health insurance plan in India.
Co-Payment:
You're going to buy a health insurance plan. The insurance
agent offers a policy with a total coverage of 7 lakhs for only Rs 10,000 a
year. But then he adds even more sugar to the mix. If you accept to a 20%
co-payment condition, he pledges to reduce the premium by 25% (or Rs 2,500 per
year). You think that's fantastic and agree to sign the contract. Wow, you just
saved a total of 2,500 dollars.
You have an accident ten months later. You've been admitted to the hospital and will require a lot of attention. Thankfully, you recover completely, and the cost totals 3 lakhs. It's no issue. You're covered by health insurance plan. The insurance, on the other hand, only pays Rs 2,40,000. Since you agreed to co-pay 20% of the price, they require you to pay the balance Rs 60,000 out of pocket.
Co-payments are usually never a good idea unless
they're required or you're buying it for someone who is elderly and has
pre-existing conditions. In this situation, a co-payment provision can
significantly reduce premiums. So, you should try to take a health insurance
plan which doesn't binds you with co-payment mode of transaction.
Waiting Period:
Health insurance plan also provide a certain waiting period, which mostly is an initial waiting period of 30 days before any benefit commence. Even during the first 30 days, cover is available for hospitalization arising out of accidents but not for illness. Apart for the 30 days waiting period, many health insurance plans impose a condition of waiting period for certain specified illness or procedures which may vary from one to four years.
The duration of the waiting period, as well as its
terms and conditions, differ from one insurance company to the next.
During the waiting period, you will most likely not receive any reimbursement
or coverage from your health insurance policy. In most of the health insurance plans,
waiting periods are standard. The only thing you can do is choose a health insurance
plan that requires the least amount of waiting time.
Cashless Treatment:
In terms of personal finances, the cashless way of
providing hospitalization coverage is quite beneficial. It eliminates the need
for an individual to set aside a considerable sum of money for payment to the
hospital, even if the insurance would refund or indemnify them later. As a
result, the cashless hospitalization cover reduces the need for an individual
to maintain extra cash on hand in case of a medical emergency. Cashless is a
service provided to health insurance customers through insurers' internal
channels or through Third Party Administrators (TPAs) who work with the
customer and the hospital to ensure that the admissible bills are not required
to be paid in the hospital and are instead directly settled by the TPA/insurer
in a timely manner.
So, you should always look for a health insurance
coverage that provides you with cashless facility which will help you reduces
the requirement to keep a surplus money to cover health-related expenses.
No Claim Bonus:
In health insurance, a no-claim bonus, or NCB, is
money added to the total covered for each year without a claim. It's similar to
an incentive given to a policyholder for not filing a claim on his health
insurance. For example, Ramesh had taken a health insurance plan in the year 2022
with coverage of Rs. 5 lakhs in the event of hospitalization.
His first year on the coverage was a claim-free year,
which meant he had not filed any hospitalization claims with his insurer. As a
result, the insurance company boosted his base sum covered by 10%, or
Rs.50,000, as a claim-free incentive for the next year, bringing his total
coverage to Rs.550,000.
His next year was similarly a claim-free year; as a reward, the insurance company gave him a free health exam and raised his base sum insured, bringing his coverage up to Rs. 6 lakhs. So, try to have an health insurance policy that offer No Claim bonus which will eventually increase the sum insured subject to a maximum 100% of your base amount.
Domiciliary hospitalization benefit:
This benefit was formerly only available in Mediclaim plans;
however, it is now included in certain modern hospitalization insurance as
well. It entails medical care for a duration of more than three days for an
ailment that would normally be treated in a hospital.
The course would need in-patient care and treatment in a hospital/nursing home, but it would be completed while confined at home in India owing to any of the aforementioned reasons.
- The patient's condition is such that he or she cannot be relocated to a hospital/nursing home; or
- The patient cannot be sent to the hospital due to a shortage of available beds in the hospital.
These are some of the useful information that will
work as a guide for you to buy the best health insurance plan for self as well
as for your family.