With rising healthcare costs, it becomes incredibly difficult for individuals belonging to mid and low-income groups to make out-of-pocket expenses to cover treatment costs of serious illnesses. This is especially true for senior citizens surviving on their savings.
With age, individuals are expected to experience more and graver ailments. The Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) revealed approximately 27% of the aged population to be suffering from multi-morbidities, and almost 3/4th being diagnosed with chronic diseases.
All these conditions require specialised treatment, which many might fail to afford. Getting medical insurance for senior citizens can help cover the extensive costs of periodical health check-ups, critical illnesses, and organ donation expenses, among others.
Read on to know more about the benefits of this insurance policy.
Why should you prioritise getting medical insurance for senior citizens?
Following is a list of some of the prominent reasons why individuals aged above 60 years should have a health insurance plan in place.
- Effective healthcare planning: Having a medical insurance policy can keep you prepared for health-related emergencies. This way, you or your family’s earning members need not exhaust savings and earnings allocated for household expenses.
- Financing expensive treatments: As already mentioned, ageing makes individuals more prone to multiple critical illnesses like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart and lung diseases. An insurance policy can cover the recurring costs of these diseases.
- Free health check-ups: Such healthcare plans include comprehensive yearly medical check-ups, which can save the high expenses incurred against these essential medical screenings.
- Remaining worry-free: Possessing a health insurance policy can relieve individuals from worrying about hospital bills in times of rising healthcare costs.
Overall, these plans offered by insurance aggregators like Bajaj Finserv cover the exorbitantly high healthcare-related expenses incurred in your old age.
What are the costs covered under senior citizen health insurance plans?
Individuals can benefit from the following cost-coverage offered under medical insurance for senior citizens.
- Hospitalisation charges: These include doctor’s fees, hospital stays, and medical costs prior to, during, and after hospitalisation.
- Treatment costs: These cover diagnostic charges for blood tests, X-rays, ECG, etc., and additional treatments like chemotherapy, orthopaedic implants, radiotherapy, and dialysis, among others.
- Daycare expenses: Any daycare treatment requiring less than 24 hours of hospital stay is covered.
- Ambulance charges: Individuals can avail the costs of ambulance services covered for transportation during emergencies.
In addition to covering the above expenses, family medical insurance covering senior citizens also has provisions for tax exemptions on premium payment under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. Older beneficiaries can enjoy greater tax deductions since they are charged higher insurance premiums.
How to choose the best medical insurance in India for family?
With multiple health insurance plans offered by various companies, it is easy for individuals to get confused. Here is a list of factors to look out for when choosing a healthcare cover for parents and in-laws.
- Premium vs benefits: Always check if the benefits like illness-coverage offered are worth the high premium charged by your insurance provider.
- Policy exclusions: Thoroughly examine your insurance company’s terms and conditions to be aware of the costs not covered.
- Co-payment and waiting period: Co-payment is the percentage of a claim that the policyholder needs to pay from their financial reservoir. The waiting period is the time during which you cannot file a claim. Both are inversely proportional, and individuals must know about both in detail.
- Member limit: Know about the maximum number of beneficiaries you can include in your best family health insurance in India.
- Hospital network: Check for the list of available hospitals offering cashless treatment under the insurance plan and ensure the presence of at least one in close proximity to your residence.
Additionally, consider sub-limits to conduct health insurance comparison before choosing a provider. Insurers also offer additional discounts or bonus in case no claims are made during an entire year under medical insurance for senior citizens.