Introduction
When a person steps into old age, they contract serious ailments and start falling sick frequently. Some of their treatments are quite expensive, and everyone can’t afford that expense. It is wise to have good medical coverage for elderly people that covers each type of medical expense. The most common benefits of health insurance cover are cashless hospitalization, daycare expenses, and a higher amount of sum is assured.
A senior citizen’s health insurance offers medical coverage to individuals who fall between the age group of 60 years to 80 years.
How is buying a health insurance plan important for senior citizen health protection?
At the time of unforeseen medical emergencies, a health insurance policy works as a savior for senior citizens. Here are some features that will help you to understand the features of a health insurance plan for senior citizens.
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- The people who attain the age of 60 years must get health cover for themselves to get rid of all financial worries at times of medical emergencies.
- In most health insurance policies, no pre-medical screening is required for senior citizens.
- It comes with a free-look period of 15 days for reviewing the policy terms and conditions.
- Under a health insurance plan, a senior citizen can avail of free medical check-ups on a yearly basis.
- It covers all the pre-existing ailments of a senior citizen.
Factors to keep in mind while offering healthcare benefits to senior citizens: How to choose the best plan
If you are looking to get maximum coverage on a health insurance plan for senior citizens, there are certain factors that one must keep in mind:
- You should be fully aware of the medical history of the policyholder
Whenever you are buying a health insurance plan for a senior citizen or for your grandparents, it is a must to be aware of their medical history. There might be a possibility that a person who is buying an insurance policy for any senior citizen of his or her family is unaware of the prevailing medical conditions, their parents or grandparents are dealing with it. So, cross-verify all the medical history before contacting the insurance company.
2. Entry age
The person should always choose the insurance plan for a senior citizen that comes with the entry age of 60 years and valid till the age of 80 years.
3. Do insurance plan comparisons: In India, there were many health insurances companies that were offering health insurance plans to senior citizens. It is always recommended that before buying any of the plans, check and compare all the senior citizen insurance plans offered. The factors that are taken into consideration for comparison are price, inclusions, exclusions, waiting period, coverage, and rider.
4. Always give accurate information at the time of purchasing a healthcare policy for senior citizens. If you are sharing wrong information, it may create a problem at the time of claim, and there are chances of policy application being rejected.
5. Always go for a medical check-up: Since it is a health insurance plan for senior citizens. On the safer side, a policyholder should always undergo a medical pre-screening after submitting the proposal form. Some of the common tests that are part of the medical screening are sugar test, urinal test, kidney, liver function, etc.
6. Network hospitals: Choose the insurer that has collaborated with a high number of network hospitals located near the residence of the policyholder. In case of any medical emergencies, the senior citizen policyholder gets quick medical assistance and avail of the cashless hospitalization facility in those network hospitals.
7. Waiting period: Some of the health insurance plans come with the feature of a waiting period. It means any treatment done related to pre-existing illness will not get coverage. So, before purchasing any health insurance plan, it is always important to study it properly.
8. Sum insured: The total sum assured in a policy cover is one of the most important factors to keep in mind. The amount that the insurer will reimburse is based on the sum assured. For senior citizens, the sum assured of the medical policy should always be higher so that they will get a huge amount for treatment of any medical ailments.
Inclusions of Health insurance plan
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- Enjoy higher sum assured to bear the medical expenses
- Avail of tax benefits
- Get free of cost annual health-checkup facility
- All daycare costs that are incurred on the use of special equipment for getting treatment of diseases like dialysis or chemotherapy, etc., is included in the medical insurance plan.
- Cashless hospitalization if the senior gets admitted for more than one day.
- Pre- and post-hospitalization expenses
- Pre-existing diseases
- Ambulance expenses
Exclusions of senior citizen health insurance plan
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- Pre-existing injuries or diseases
- All the diseases that are contracted within 30 days of the policy
- Any kind of non-allopathic treatment
- Any of the expenses related to self-inflicted injuries
- Any of the medical expenses incurred due to drug abuse
- Expenses incurred for getting treatment of AIDS
- Cosmetic surgeries
- Injuries incurred in a war, or act of foreign army, etc.
Bottomline
With increasing age, the cost of healthcare also increases, which becomes difficult to bear after the age of 60 years, when the person is having limited savings for their retirement life. So, buying a best health insurance plan has become a necessity, not an option. It will save them exhausting all their hard-earned money for getting regular check-ups or undergoing severe medical treatment. It is both a kind of financial and health protection plan.