Features and benefits of a health Insurance Policy

In the current Indian economy, health insurance is a rapidly growing section. Various policies are available for one policyholder or his/her family. Due to the high mortality rate, the need for medical insurance is rapidly growing and you should know all their features before investing in one. 

With the growing health awareness and liberalisation of the economy, the health insurance industry is flourishing quickly. Critical illness plans, hospitalisation, pre-existing disease cover, senior citizen health insurance and pro-active plans are common types of health insurance policy in which you should invest to look after your health. Apart from paying premiums and securing life, insurance has many other benefits including tax deductible.

Features of Health Insurance Policy 

70% of Indian citizens now invest their whole income in healthcare services and 47% of the rural citizens take help of loans to pay the medical expense. From the cost of the ambulance to the doctor’s fees, a health insurance has a wide range of features.

Cashless Benefit 

The cashless treatment feature enables the benefit of not paying one penny for the treatment. If you are admitted to a hospital with which your insurance plan company collaborates, there is no need of paying anything further. As making arrangements during emergency become crucial, the cashless treatment of health insurance in 2018 saves people’s lives.

OPD and Day-Care Costs 

The health insurance requirements focus on the 24-hour hospital. But nowadays, with the use of advanced technology, surgeries take less time to complete. Eye surgery, dialysis, lithotripsy, chemotherapy and one-day treatments are covered by health insurance. Following a few restrictions, up to 140 surgeries are covered by the insurer.

OPD treatments such as  a small time and dental treatment is one of the examples of it. The policymakers now offer OPD and day-care expenses also that does not require any hospital admission.

No Need of Medical Check-up till 45 years old 

In the past, after disclosing the diseases, the customers had to undergo a medical check-up. However, now the policy makers do not require any medical test if the insured is no more than 45 years old. As previously said, claim settlement becomes easier with the disclosure of proper diseases.

Pre-Existing Diseases 

After completing 4 years of the health insurance policy, you will get cover on the pre-existing diseases. The health insurance terms indicate that the policy user must disclose the pre-existing ailment and should be aware of the disease’s presence in the body.

The company may refuse to pay for the claim when they suspect that the buyer has been aware of the disease. By disclosing pre-existing diseases beforehand, the claim process becomes hassle-free.

Promoting Healthy Lifestyle 

It may be a unique feature in the list, but health insurance companies now emphasise on leaving junk foods behind to incorporate with the busy life. As the need for leading a healthy life increases, the wellness plans appreciate the users staying fit. They often organise health promotion events.

Also, when you are young and maintain a healthy lifestyle, you have to pay less for the premium of health insurance. With age, the premium increases and it exceeds the range of affordability.

Various Payment Methods 

The health insurance plans have well-structured premium payment scenarios. Moreover, the payment structure can vary based on the geographical location; the metro cities have different payment structure as the policies are costlier than the rural locations. The high medical expense is associated with this aspect.

Benefits of Health Insurance 

Before choosing the right health insurance policy, you may have thought that hospitalisation expense is the only thing covered by the insurer. However, the plan can pay the medical bills and other related spending. The benefits of the policy are discussed in details below.

Spending Linked to Organ Donor 

With health insurance online, you need not worry about the medical expenses and the cost of an organ donor is also covered. Now a kidney transplant costs Rs. 3 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs. Coverage for organ transplant operation is a part of the standard health plan and many of the policymakers reimburse the whole.

However, many insurers impose a cap on the add-on benefits like this one. In this case, from pre-hospitalisation to post-surgical problems are not considered by the policymaker.

Weight Loss Surgery 

Patients who undergo the critical consequences of obesity can improve their lives by opting for a liposuction surgery and health insurance often covers this expense. If the surgery has followed a medical procedure, the policies take care of the cost of the bariatric surgery.

Concierge and Attendant Service 

The chronic ailments result in losing the power of doing simple daily activities. Personal assistance is much needed for the patients to survive through a critical illness. With the help of concierge service, the patient can take the doctor’s appointments, follow prescriptions and arrange the bills accordingly. The importance of concierge service is vital and it saves effort and time.

There is also attendant service providing cash allowance through health insurance for the patients who are being looked after at the hospital. The policyholder can avail the allowance on a daily basis and fulfill personal needs like refreshment and food. Of course, the range of allowance is dependent on the hospital stay.

Tax Deductions on Health Insurance 

Tax benefits are essential as they can influence the customers to invest in a policy. Following the Income Tax Act 1961, under Section 80D, health insurance premium is included under tax deduction. The user can avail tax benefit till Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 but he or she has to meet certain claim deduction criteria.

The individual policyholder needs to provide payment proof and premium payment needs to be done except undertaking cash mode.

If you pay for the health insurance for your family and nobody is over 60 years old, Rs. 25,000 can be claimed as a tax deduction. If anyone insured in the family is over 60 years old, you can save up to Rs. 50,000 as the norms of tax deductibles.

Top-Up Facility 

You can top up your health insurance policy in India and ensure wide health coverage. Enrolling for new health insurance services can be difficult and through top-up, you can enhance the health cover. The facility saves money and time. In addition to the context, the policyholder does not have to undergo medical test again.