Importance Of Health Insurance In India

Most of us work our entire lives to build savings and accomplish our financial goals like a child's wedding or building a home. However, these savings can easily get depleted due to medical emergencies in today's rising hospital expenses. This is where the importance of health insurance comes into play. Thus, it is pivotal to know why health insurance is important for you and the role of different health insurance plans.

Features of Healthcare Insurance

Features of any health plan vary from one insurance provider to another. If you are planning to buy a medical insurance plan for yourself or your family, then there are some common features which are associated with every health plan:

• Cashless Treatment: The facility of cashless treatment is provided by the insurer in case you seek treatment in network hospitals. You just need to show a medical card issued by the insurer at the time of availing the service.
• Waiting Period for Pre-existing Disease: The medical condition you suffer from before applying for medical insurance is considered a pre-existing disease. Insurance companies have a waiting period of 36 months in which you can not file a claim against the insurer for the treatment of those diseases.
• Premium: Premium is the amount of money that the policyholder has to pay every year against the coverage provided by the insurer. The premium varies from the companies and plans you choose.
• No Claim Bonus: For the years you do not claim medical insurance, you get the benefit of no claim bonus. Under this, your coverage limit gets extended for the upcoming year.

Exclusions and Inclusions: Exclusions are the diseases that are not covered in the health plan, and inclusions are the services and diseases which are covered under the plan. You should look for a plan which has minimum exclusions.

Importance of Health Insurance Plans:

There are various plans available in the insurance market offering different features. If you have a family, then you must gift them health coverage. Here is the importance of a medical insurance plan:

1. Financial security

A prime reason why health insurance is important is the financial security it provides. At some point, every individual and family seek security. While saving and investments are major parts of it, the importance of health insurance cannot be ignored. If there is a medical emergency in the family, you might have to give up on your savings or investments. Individual health insurance plans and family health insurance plans protect you from such eventualities. In addition, there are tax benefits, which add to the financial security.

2. Shift in lifestyle

Our lifestyle has changed a lot since the beginning of the 21st Century. We tend to travel a lot, live a sedentary lifestyle, and seldom have time to focus on our health. We often ignore small signs of a health problem and then get worried when it turns bigger.

Having health insurance cover for the entire family will provide facilities such as regular health check-ups, cashless cover, and the best medical facilities at the best hospitals, which will keep you and your family assured about each other. Plus, critical illness insurance and personal accident insurance can be best suited for persons facing greater occupational risks or health conditions.

3. Rising medical costs

Inflation hasn’t spared the healthcare sector at all. With rising hospital expenses and the rise in healthcare costs in general, buying health insurance policy has become a must. One can never stay too safe or foresee serious ailments, accidents, etc. At such times, critical illness insurance, personal accident insurance, and such special policies come to the rescue.

4. Range of options

Health insurance is no more just about individual health insurance plans. There is a wide range of family health insurance plans, critical illness insurance, personal accident insurance, child plans, senior citizen plans, etc. suited to specific needs. It is also easy to compare health insurance plans through online portals, use premium calculators, etc. and make the process easier.

5. Special benefits of health insurance policies

One of the major reasons why health insurance is important are the special benefits that tag along with it. These are the many benefits of buying health insurance policy.

• The expenses before and after hospitalization are also covered for almost two months, usually depending on the type of the health insurance plan.
• Generally, depending upon the premium paid, the hospitalization fee, which includes room expenses, is also covered under the health insurance policy.
• In case you are the insured person under the health insurance policy, you can avail cashless treatments as various insurance agencies work together with different hospital networks.
• The charges that you incur during transportation (like ambulance) in a medical emergency are all covered under the health insurance policy.
• The premium that is paid for the health insurance is tax deductible according to the Section 80D of the Income Tax Act .

Take Note:

It is vital to evaluate your health insurance premium before buying health insurance policy. Health insurance premium is the amount that needs to be paid regularly for health insurance every month, or every quarter, or as per policy. The health insurance premium varies widely according to different agencies and different types of plans. Better health care does not always come with low premiums, which is why it is always imperative to compare health insurance plans.

Conclusion:

It is comprehensible how crucial buying health insurance policy is when you and your family need medical care at a time where there are rising hospital expenses especially in the private sectors. It is necessary to compare health insurance plans, as there are numerous kinds of individual health insurance plans and family health insurance plans that could be flexible according to you and your family's requirements.