We all take several steps to ensure that our body stays fit and is able to battle various infections and diseases. However, certain lifestyle changes and unpredictable events may harm our bodies to a great extent. These events can lead to physical, mental, and financial issues in our lives. Therefore, we must ensure that we are prepared for such events. One of the easiest ways to ensure that we are prepared against health-related challenges is by choosing a suitable health insurance plan.
A health insurance plan is a plan that is designed to help us deal with the medical expenses that may arise due to a disease or an accident. These expenses include hospitalisation costs, medicine bills, and doctor consultation fees. Getting a medical insurance plan is a prudent decision since it can help you get the best possible medical care during adverse medical situations.
Components of Health Insurance
A basic health insurance plan provides you coverage for:
- Accidental injuries;
- Hospitalisation expenses;
- Pre and post hospitalisation expenditure;
- Health check-ups;
- Pre-existing Illnesses.
The above components of a health insurance plan can help you better deal with medical issues. You can enhance the coverage of the plan by including the necessary add-ons. Before purchasing health insurance, it is pivotal to know certain important things.
Important Things To Know Before Buying Health Insurance
Here are some of the significant factors you should account for while choosing a health insurance plan.
- Select the most optimal health insurance coverage: The selection of the right health insurance policy for yourself or your family requires a thorough analysis of your health insurance needs. For some individuals, it may be preferable to opt for a wide health insurance coverage for their entire family, whilst others may choose individual health insurance plans.
Here are some criteria that can help you purchase the right health insurance plan:
● Your existing health issues: If you’ve dealt with recent hospitalisations or have any hereditary medical conditions or past illnesses, you should keep them in mind while selecting a medical insurance plan. You must peruse the illnesses and medical conditions covered in a health insurance plan before selecting it.
● Your life-stage: You must opt for a health insurance plan policy based on the stage you are in in your life. For example, the most suitable health insurance plan would depend on whether you are single, married, with or without kids, etc.
● Your lifestyle: One’s lifestyle is dependent on factors like income, city, food intake, occupation, etc. An analysis of your lifestyle can help you decide the sum assured you need to include in your health insurance policy.
● Health insurance add-on riders: You must check the different riders available to be added to your health insurance policy. These riders can help you enhance the plan’s coverage. However, you must choose the riders carefully as they can lead to a significant hike in your car insurance premium.
- Understand the difference between network and non-network hospitals: Network hospitals are the hospitals that have tie-ups with a particular insurance company for offering cashless treatment to an individual who has an insurance policy with the insurer. A non-network hospital, on the other hand, is a hospital that is not a part of this network.
An individual needs to pay for their medical treatment based on the selected insurance company’s reimbursement policy. There may be certain scenarios when the network hospital may not offer you cashless treatment. However, this amount could be reimbursed later.
- Know how the reimbursement of the cost of treatment at non-network hospitals works: Most insurance companies have some hospitals under their network that help policyholders avail of the facility of cashless hospitalisation. However, it isn’t always possible to get admitted to a network hospital. Furthermore, some individuals may wish to get medical treatment at a hospital of their choice, which may not be part of the aforementioned network.
If you wish to get treated in a non-network hospital, you can be reimbursed for the medical expenses as long as the reimbursement claim is supported by the bills and other necessary documents as per the policy. To get full reimbursement for these expenses, you need to contact your insurance company within 24 hours of getting admitted to a non-network hospital.
After the health insurance plan claim is registered, the policyholder is provided with the claim number and the claim form. The policyholder will then have to submit the claim form along with the documents listed below:
● Medical bills and doctor’s prescription;
● Hospital bill with payment receipts;
● Medical reports and diagnostic test reports.
- Buy health insurance online: While purchasing a health insurance policy used to be difficult in the past, these days, you can buy one online by visiting your preferred insurer’s website. By purchasing health insurance online, you can compare the different plans that are available and select the one that matches your medical insurance requirements. If you buy health insurance online, you also get the benefit of minimal documentation and paperwork.
- Understand why you must buy health insurance: You may be at your physical peak with no illnesses and wonder, ‘why buy health insurance?’. However, you must understand that unpredictable events like accidents and illnesses can lead to high medical expenses. Therefore, it is optimal to be as prepared as possible for dealing with such situations.
Conclusion
Buying health insurance can help you deal with unfortunate events like accidental injuries, illnesses, etc. With the benefits of health insurance, you won’t have to worry about hospital expenses anymore. You should consider purchasing an adequate medical insurance plan even if you’re physically fit and have no family history of diseases. However, before you purchase a health insurance plan, keep the factors discussed above in mind.
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