Greetings from here! This is another educative writeup as always! However, this one is solely based on info about health insurance.
There's barely any human on this earth that would love to fall sick or out of shape. We all want to be perfectly healthy so as to be able to go on with our daily activities smoothly and in happiness. Since we would not want to fall sick and run out of emergent medical treatment due to insufficient funds, it's advisable we set up a good health insurance policy that would cover the expenses on our behalf.
With all these being said, let's dive right into the purpose of this writeup -To educate you on health insurance.
On this article, I'll be talking about;
• What is Health insurance?
• Types Of Health insurance
• Benefits Of Health insurance
• Why exactly you need insurance
• Which of the types of health insurance is the best?
Let's have it, shall we?
WHAT IS HEALTH INSURANCE?
Health insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers emergent medical expenses that arise due to an unforeseen illness. These expenses are basically and mainly related to cost of medicines, hospitalisation costs or doctor consultation fees.
Just like every other form of insurance, it is put in place to avoid the inability to pay hospital fees after being hospitalised.
TYPES OF HEALTH INSURANCE
There are mainly two basic types of health insurance put in place. They are;
- Critical illness insurance plans
- Mediclaim Plans(Also known as hospitalisation plans)
Let's shine light on some areas of these two above.
- Critical illness insurance plans
This type of health insurance plan is put in place to cover specific 'critical' and life-threatening diseases.
These diseases could sometimes require prolonged treatment or a change in lifestyle in some cases. The payout of this plan is made on Critical illness cover which is chosen by the customer and not on actual expenses incurred in the hospital, unlike hospitalisation plans.
This plan also gives the customer the freedom and flexibility to use the funds for changing medicines and lifestyle. It is also used as substitute for steady income to cover the time the customer could not work due to illness. The payout on this plan is made based on the diagnosis of the disease. This means that the original medical bills are not in any way required.
- Mediclaim plans
This type of health insurance plan is the most basic and most common health insurance plan.
It covers the cost of the expenses incurred when the customer is admitted in a hospital. It also covers the expenses of an entire family up to a certain limit. The payout made on this plan is based on the actual expenses, as it requires the submitting of an original hospital bill.
BENEFITS OF HEALTH INSURANCE
Talking about health insurance, it is not limited to individual insurance. A customer can obtain a full coverage for his/her family under the same scheme as well.
However, if the customer has four or more members under the group insurance, the coverage offered may not be sufficient. And also, the corporate insurance plans provided by the customer's employer may not have an adequate sum insured.
In the preparation for dealing with high and escalating healthcare and hospitalisation costs, getting a good health insurance plan isn't a bad idea.
Allow me to list some eye-opening benefits of getting a health insurance plan.
• Regular medical checkups: Some health insurance companies do allow their customers the privilege of regular checkups at designated healthcare centres. With this, the health insurance policy is not only helping out in a cure but in prevention of diseases as well.
• No Claims Bonus: By the time of renewal of the health insurance policy, if the customers do not place a claim on the insurance, they can be awarded a bonus.
In a clearer explanation, a percentage of the sum insured by the customer can get added to the annual sum insured during renewal, if the customer didn't place a claim on the insurance for a whole year.
• Family Health Protection: Like i said earlier, not just the customer, but his/her dependent family members like his/her siblings, children, parents and spouse can get a health insurance plan too.
The customer can take care of his/her loved ones with the necessary health insurance plans.
• Financial Security: The customers can stay assured of prompt financial help in times of need with the right health insurance plan.
There is always cover for emergent medical fees.
Without having to get all their savings, customers can pay for medical expenses, which makes them financially secure for the future.
• Added Benefits: Some health insurance companies cover the costs of maternity expenses, transportation via ambulance, hospitalisation expenses incurred for up to 30 days before or after the customer was hospitalised. They also cover alternative therapy costs under the customer's health insurance plan.
• Cashless Hospitalisation: Most health insurance companies have ties with professional hospitals in the country. If their customers happen to also register with the same hospital, their treatment will be cashless.
• Benefits Of Fixed Health insurance Plans: If the customer has a fixed health insurance plan, upon diagnosis, he/she will receive the money without having to submit any hospital bills whatsoever.
The payout is just made to the customer without being a subject to any limits like room rent, etc.
WHY EXACTLY YOU NEED HEALTH INSURANCE
Truthfully, no one plans to get hurt or fall sick, but an illness can strike anyone at any time. Or even anyone can get involved in an accident at any time, so it is best to be prepared for any breakout.
Without an active health insurance plan, the cost of treating an illness or an accident damage can bring about severe strain on the savings a person has piled up over the years.
This can cause the defaulting of home loan or rent payments, or the compromise on providing quality education for one's children. It is well known to you and i that medical costs and treatments expenses are steadily on the rise.
One disease, as it is, can drain out all the money one has accumulated for marriage, children education or even the purchase of a house.
No one would want his/her dreams to be shattered all because of a disease breakout most especially when the person could have prevented it, so it is with great benefits to get a health insurance plan when a person is young and fully fit. The disadvantage of not getting a health insurance plan is that as a person gets old, the premium not only increases but the health insurance company might even deny the person a coverage.
WHICH OF THE TYPES OF HEALTH INSURANCE IS THE BEST?
It is not in my place to decide which of the health insurance plan is best, but i hope that with proper explanation here, you should be able to decide which one is best for you.
A Mediclaim plan will settle the hospital bills via a cashless facility, or will reimburse all the customer's hospitalisation expenses.
A Critical illness plan on its own will rather give the customer a huge lump-sum payout after the detection of a critical illness. The customer also doesn't have to be hospitalised.
If the customer is also unable to work due to the illness, the sum can also be used as a substitute of income for the customer.
The customer can use the payout to cover expenses such as medical tests, doctor's visits, purchase of medicine and any other expenses that may arise during this time.
In my opinion, a person needs both. Why? Because one can use a Mediclaim plan to cover hospitalisation expenses and a Critical illness plan for coverage of loss of income and other miscellaneous expenses that arise due to a sickness.
