How to Save Money with Health Insurance?
Medical inflation is increasing at 8-15% every year in India which is concerning because cost of treatments, medicines and other healthcare products are getting expensive. Looking at such a high inflation number, you can question whether your investments or annual income is rising at a rate higher than the inflation? If not, you are more likely to lose your savings on medical treatments.
Buying a health insurance policy is one of the most inexpensive solutions to protect your savings from rising medical inflation. A health insurance policy ensures you get the required financial assistance during medical treatments during illness or accidents for a small premium.
A health insurance policy provides cover for Pre-hospitalization, hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenses with terms and conditions as mentioned in your policy documents.
Pre-hospitalization expenses:
This is the cost paid before hospitalization. There are several diagnostics and tests conducted prior to hospitalization, there are also certain medications that can be prescribed by doctors prior to hospitalization, the cost of calling an ambulance are some of the examples of pre-hospitalization expenses. How much would that cost?
Some basic diagnostics and tests such as x-ray, blood test, CT scan, bone scan, MRI, PET scan, ultrasound, etc can cost between ₹8000 to ₹72000. If you had purchased a medical insurance plan under the age of 30, this cost is roughly 5-10 years of your total premium paid for the insurance.
Hospitalization expenses:
Hospitalization expenses include the cost of medicines, surgery, doctor’s fee, room rents, etc that are incurred while being admitted in the hospital. This is usually where the highest expenses are incurred. Depending on the treatments the cost usually goes in lakhs. For example, the cost of getting cancer treatment can go up to 10 to 20 lakhs.
Such a high cost of medical treatments may erode your savings or might force you to compromise on the treatments. Buying medical insurance plans ensures that you can get the medical treatment required with financial assistance from the Insurance companies. Thus, helping you save your own money.
Post Hospitalization expenses:
After getting discharged from the hospital, you might need some medication and other healthcare products to recover. This too has a cost.
Considering the cost that is involved in getting a medical treatment, one can easily picture the importance of health insurance policy. The only challenge is finding the right health insurance policy to ensure financial assistance in medical emergencies. Hence, it’s recommended that you always discuss the insurance needs with an IRDA Approved Insurance Advisor before buying a health insurance policy.
For those who have an existing health insurance policy can go through their policy documents as they might have overlooked some of the benefits that their medical insurance plans may be offering to save money as mentioned below:
- Your health insurance policy might cover expenses such as creating a visiting card for more than 1 member to see the patient during the hospitalization, food and refreshment expenses, etc. for a predefined amount even without a bill.
- You can claim a lump sum amount post-hospitalization for the loss of income during the medical treatment and also for pre and post treatment.
- Some diseases or treatments or medical tests may not require hospitalization and can be treated within a day in a few hours. However, these can have a huge cumulative cost. For example: Chemo, Blood infusion, etc which does not require hospitalization for more than a day are also covered in medical insurance plans.
- Cost incurred by the organ donor is also covered under your health insurance policy for treatments that require transplanting a new organ.
- You can port your policy from one insurer to another which offers better benefits or charge lower premiums without losing the NCB and waiting period requirements in health insurance policy.
- You can get a top-up on your existing policy to increase the insurance coverage at a relatively lower premium than buying the base policy of the same premiums.
Conclusion:
Health Insurance policy is a must. It not only protects the savings but also plays a vital role in protecting all other goals in your life.
Starting a health insurance at an early age is recommended to save on the premiums. Also remember, getting a health insurance is an option only upto a certain age and before the disease is detected. Consult an advisor to discuss your insurance needs before buying a policy.
