How can Medical Insurance for Senior Citizens be beneficial

Dear Humans, life’s a journey. As you grow, so do you keep aging. Senior citizenship itself brings a whole lot of ailments that are expensive for the pocket as well as life. So, we must take precautionary steps to care for ourselves. As we age with numbers, we get stressed physically, mentally as well as financially to afford good healthcare, and so we are at higher risk of contracting life-threatening diseases. So, many healthcare insurance plans are re-introduced by the Insurance Department of India to offer financial help for hefty medical treatments for all 60+ years of aged people that can be helpful for critical illness coverage, penny-less hospitalization, and all/any pre-existing diseases.

Therefore, it is a wise decision to sign up for a medical insurance plan for Senior citizens to take utmost and timely care of any urgent financial crisis to become more medically sound in case of a medical emergency.

Table of Contents

Prime Features for signing Senior Citizen Medical Insurance Plans: –

Hospital coverage of the medical bill/room charges.
Zero-payment.
Daily-Care expenses, which pop out of nowhere.
Covering hospital ambulance charges.
Any Pre-existing diseases that are mentioned by the insurance provider are covered.
Fast and hassle-free working/settlement.

Key points to ponder before you purchase Any Senior Citizen Medical Insurance Policy:–

Medical/ Historical record of the applicant: –

It is extremely important not to rely on your parent’s medical condition even if they look fit and fine.
They might not be aware of hidden/certain ailments they might be suffering from within.
All health insurance providers need you to provide them with extremely accurate information about their existing health issues.
So, it is mandatory to share your medical history without any inhibitions.

Selection of the right plan: –

All over the world, there are multiple factors that are required for the selection of the correct health insurance policy.
Comparison of plans between various health insurance plans that are available in the market is crucial as understanding factors like coverage and cost/exclusions right before finalising a plan

Also Read : Features of General Insurance

Fill in the correct form of proposal: –

When you have chosen the correct policy, you also must fill out the proposal form along with the policy.
It is crucial for you to provide accurate and relevant information when you fill in with the details.
Providing inaccurate information will lead to many complications/ rejections of your application too.

Your thorough medical check-up: –

When you submit your proposal form, a panel of doctors of the insurance company will conduct a thorough examination and personal interview the patient to verify his/her information mentioned in the form related to the medical conditions.
Then comes the medical check-up, wherein the doctors will conduct around 13-15 tests based on the health condition.
For Example: – Blood check-up, routine tests, Lipid profile, increased/decreased sugar level, urine test, Liver functioning test, kidney functioning test, creatinine, sonography (in the case of women).

Multiple Benefits of signing up for medical insurance of Senior Citizenship: –

Income tax benefit on any medical insurance premium.
Available treatment/ medical facilities across any line of hospitals nationwide.
Enjoying Cashless treatment and dearly allowance.
Option of renewing the policy.
Availability of health check-ups all around the year.

Which points are not covered in Senior Citizen Medical Insurance?

If in case of any pre-existing injury/disease.
Any kind of disease which are contracted within one month period of availing of the plan/policy.
All the non-allopathic treatments.
All the expenses which are related to the self-inflicted injury.
All the expenses are due to drug abuse.
Price of the spectacle/lens/dental treatments (which should not be due to accidents).
All the medical expenses which are incurred for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Few ailments like joint replacement surgery are covered only after two years of signing/ availing of the plan/policy.
Any type of cosmetic surgery.
Injuries due to the war or an act of a foreign army.

Always Keep in mind whenever you buy any Senior Citizen Medical Insurance Policy: –

Try to compare various plans available on the market/online:

Whichever policy you choose, it must cover the individual’s specific medical needs like chemotherapy, any organ donation, in case of dialysis, etc.
Ensure to check all the features like sub-limit of room rent, consultation charges, and the co-pay.
In case the sub-limit is poor/low, or if the co-pay seems high, you might end up paying a higher amount from your pocket.

Try to select high sum assured:

Always consider medical inflation, and the uncertainties are considered whenever you choose the sum assured.
It is the total amount for which you/ your parent are going to be insured.

Take a note of the waiting period:

As far as the senior citizen’s age is concerned, it is always safe to take a lower waiting period in case of any pre-existing disease cover, as it is highly conducive.
Chalk out the right plan with a lower waiting period to help the insurance cover come in handy whenever it is needed.

Try to sign separate policies for senior citizens/parents: –

My advice is not to include your parents, especially senior citizens, in your family plan because the premium is always based on the oldest/eldest member of your family.
Also, the renewal age depends on the age factor of the senior- most members.

Co-payment: –

As I know, many insurers try to offer senior citizens medical insurance policies/ plans with an additional co-payment option.
This means that the policyholder will have to bear one part of the medical expenses.
Also, co-payment is a minimum of 18%-20% of the claimed amount.
Few insurers offer a reduction in the co-payment for all renewals.

Interesting FAQs: –

Points to remember before availing of any health insurance for senior citizens?
Renewal of age limit.
The entry/ exit age.
The Co-payment option.
Very important-Domiciliary Option treatment.

Q : Are these premiums set for senior citizen health insurance schemes too costly as compared to normal insurance policies?

Ans : Indeed, yes. As the age of the insured person matters during the purchasing of health insurance, so do they come at a high premium.

Q : Why do we need health insurance?

Ans : In today’s rapidly moving lifestyle and eating habits, worldly viruses/ diseases like Covid, which is unexpectedly creating havoc all around the world, and life-threatening infections cropping in, it becomes difficult to pay all the medical bills from our own pocket if contracted.

That is why health insurance policies are very helpful for us to get timely and additional healthcare during emergency hospitalization/ unavoidable medical treatments.

Differences between family floater/ critical illness/ hospital payment insurance?
The first plan is the family floater: It covers all the hospitalization costs of the whole family Ex: – My Self, My spouse, kids, and the dependent parents, especially during the policy term.
The second plan is the critical illness: It pays a lump-sum percentage of amounts upon the diagnosis of any critical illness of the insured person, regardless of what treatment is claimed.
The third plan is the hospital cash: It offers daily cash of up to Rs.3500/- to Rs 4000/- per day for the insured member for all non-medical expenses of his/ her hospitalization tenure.

Q : Is it necessary to undergo a medical check-up before buying the policy?

Ans : All individuals who are above 45+ years of age strictly must undergo one pre-policy medical test.

It is mandatory for all senior citizen health plans.

Q : Can I cancel my health insurance policy?

Ans : Yes, if you have any reservations/ objections to a few terms and conditions of the said policy, you can return the policy.

You can get a refund of all the premiums paid with a few deductions, like the stamp duty charges.

Please submit a duly filled form/ surrender form at your nearest branch/ office by submitting all the policy documents.

Q : Can all insurance companies offer cashless hospitalization?

Ans :There is massive competition between the public, private as well as standalone health insurance companies all over India.

So, all the insurers provide cashless hospitalization at any one of their branch/network hospitals.

Q : Important key points to remember before enrolling in any medical insurance for senior citizens.

Ans : Age bar, renewing of the plan at a certain age, if/any pre-existing disease coverage, illness cover, amount insured, company payment, or premium.

Required documents are needed before signing for medical insurance for senior citizens.
All the pre-policy medical health check-up papers/ documents.
Any duly filled form/ proposal.
All the supporting documents related to any pre-existing ailment.
Specified Age proof.

Conclusion

So people, as we only live once, it is important to take care of ourselves. We have various means to take care of via various Government policies, schemes, offers, and investments. Only 1-point matters- It is the Right timing of enrolment. If you sign up for a Medical Health Insurance plan for the Senior citizens at the earliest before any miss-happening, I assure you, the treatment will not be heavy on your pockets. So in order to go cashless during medical emergencies, quickly sign up for one of the best plans available.

How can Medical Insurance for Senior Citizens be beneficial?