Why is Health Insurance Important?
Irrespective of whom you trust for advice or take opinions from, if you ask them whether you should get health insurance or not, they will answer that you should. Many people think that health insurance covers only the hospitalization charges. In truth, health insurance, as the name suggests, is insurance for your health, and your health is not restricted to a hospital. It is the Mediclaim policies which only has hospitalization charges. A Health Insurance Policy, on the other hand, covers your health and even your family. To understand better, here are 8 reasons why health insurance is important:
- Lifelong Renewal
One of the key benefits that a health insurance plan has over a mediclaim policy is the feature of lifelong renewal. A mediclaim policy has a fixed age limit beyond which it cannot be renewed. A health insurance policy, however, provides lifelong renewal.
- Get Second Opinion
All doctors have a different perspective when it comes to treating certain ailments. Rarely will two doctors suggest the same course of treatment or medication for a common ailment. Earlier, health insurance policies only used to cover the first doctor you go to. However, the new policies have become slightly flexible and allow you to take second opinion by consulting some other doctor to decide which treatment works best for you.
- Vaccination Cover
Earlier, mediclaim policies and health insurances did not cover expenses connected with maternity. Many companies have recently begun to offer cover restoration for maternity expenses and vaccination for the new-born children up to a certain age. The age varies from policy to policy.
- Health Insurance for the whole Family
Traditional health insurance policy only covers the person who is insured. But the new policies are somewhat wider in approach, and cover the families as well. That means no need to get health insurance for every family member individually. Also, family health insurance is much more affordable than buying individual health insurance policies for all family members.
- OPD Expenses
Earlier, health insurance policies used to cover only the hospitalization expenses, and the insurers had to bear the cost of consultations and regular check-ups. However, new policies also cover the cost of consultations and regular check-ups. So be it a dentist bill, treatment bill, or medication bill, the health insurance policies now cover many such OPD expenses.
- Utilise the Benefits of the health insurance
Each health insurance policy vaguely offer the same provisions, but each company offers different health insurance plans, and each of them has different terms and conditions. Thus, many policies have offers which you can utilize to your advantage. These offers include, annual check-ups, discount coupon for exercise-related programs and even alternative care treatment, etc. It is, therefore, beneficial to read all terms and conditions before so that you know what’s applicable to the policy.
- Daily Hospital Allowance
With the advent of cashless claims/hospitalization, you do not have to pay for the hospitalization charges and then file a claim afterwards. The newer policies by insurance brands include cashless claim, which means that all the hospitalization charges will be paid by the insurance company, and you do not have pay anything. The insurer will also provide daily cash allowance to the insured and his/her family for food, commuting and other expenses.
- Treatment at Home
In many cases, after discharge from the hospital, doctors recommend that treatment should be continued at home, and the patient hires a nurse to look after him/her at home. To cater to this, new terms by health insurance policies also include the charges for health attendant or nurse for post-hospitalization treatment.
Doctors always say that “Prevention is better than cure”. It is true, but its meaning is not confined in any manner. It can also be applied in the health insurance context where health insurance is your financial expense of a treatment borne by the insurer. That is, if you get health insurance in time, you will not have worry about expenses while you are being treated in the hospital.
