What Is Health Insurance And What Are Its Benefits?

With the rapid changes around the world due to the change in environment, COVID-19 pandemic, increased work stress, etc. people have become more prone to contract life-threatening diseases. The recent rise in inflation has resulted in the increase in the basic costs of medical expenses at the private hospital. Therefore, the health insurance providers have rolled out different types of health insurance plans to help people compensate for their medical expenses in case of a medical emergency. Before investing in a health insurance plan, it is advisable to consider and analyze your requirements, based on which you can narrow down your options.

A health insurance plan offers the much needed financial aid to the people at an affordable price for their medical expenditures. These plans come packed with some common features like cashless claims at network hospitals, no-claim-bonus on claim free years, ambulance charges, tax saving perks, etc. These exclusive features can be availed by the policyholders at the time of the claim settlement procedure. You can claim your plans after the waiting period of your plan, which differs according to the medical condition and is specified by the insurer.

About Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance plans offer monetary compensation for the medical expenses of an individual at the time of hospitalization in case of an emergency. The inclusions and exclusions of your purchased health insurance are mentioned under the policy terms and can differ from one insurer to the other. The cost-effectiveness of the health insurance plans depends on the medical history, claim amount, deductibles, age of the applicant, co-payment clause, etc. There are different types of health insurance plans that are available in the insurance market like group health insurance, family health insurance, critical illness plans, maternity plans, etc. Policyholders also get tax saving perks on the premium amounts of their purchased cover under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

Must Read: Top 5 Health Insurance Companies With Impressive Claim Settlement Ratio

Prominent Features of Health Insurance Plans

Let us look at some of the key features of the health insurance plans that are offered to the policyholders:

• Health insurance plans come with sub-limits on the room rents under which the amount of compensation for room rents is pre-specified by the insurer. Certain plans do not impose any sub-limits, and therefore you can opt for such plans.
• Pre-existing diseases are generally not covered under the health insurance plans and if some of the insurers cover it, they include it with a waiting period of around 2 to 4 years. Therefore, you must go through the policy carefully before investing in it.
• Co-payment clause specifies the share of the medical expenses that are to be borne by the policyholder. You must invest in a plan that offers little to no co-payment.

Benefits of Having A Health Insurance Plan

Following are some of the standard benefits of the health insurance plans that can be availed by the policyholders:

• You can get cashless claim benefits at the network hospital of the insurer which makes the claim settlement process smooth and convenient for the policyholders.
• The health insurance providers offer compensation for pre and post-hospitalization expenses for around 60 days depending on the insurer. It also includes other expenses like domiciliary expenses, inpatient costs, daycare procedures, and much more.
• Certain health insurers also offer emergency ambulance charges to the policyholders limiting to a certain amount as pre-specified by the insurance provider.
• Policyholders get no claim bonus (NCB) benefits as accumulated benefits for every claim free year during the policy tenure.
• The customers also get access to complementary healthcare checkups in private hospitals.

Conclusion

You must invest in a suitable health insurance plan to save your financial savings from getting exhausted over the medical expenses. You can get a good health insurance plan based on your requirements, and you must carefully go through its fine print to avoid any inconvenience at the time of the claim settlement process.

Also Read: 6 Reasons Why You Must Get Health Insurance

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.