We live in a world where working 12-14 hours a day, traveling constantly for work, and dealing with anxiety and stress has been extremely normalized. Our unhealthy lifestyle has led us to numerous diseases which have resulted in high hospitalization rates followed by long medical bills.
The cost of healthcare is rising like never before with the new technologies in medical treatments. If you are someone who has no solution for medical emergencies, then you are probably doing something terribly wrong. Having comprehensive health insurance that acts as a financial pillow is extremely important in today’s world.
This article explains everything you need to know about comprehensive health insurance and how you can benefit from it without exhausting your SAVINGS.
What is comprehensive health insurance?
To put it in simple words, comprehensive health insurance is an inclusive policy that comprises coverages against your medical emergencies and provides financial cushioning to support all your medical expenses which includes hospitalization costs, daycare treatment, physician visits, ambulance charges and much more.
The reason why a comprehensive health insurance plan is the most preferred plan for a lot of people is that under a single policy you have a wide range of medical coverages meaning you do not have to buy different health insurance plans, unlike other basic health insurance plans.
What does comprehensive health insurance plans cover?
If you are looking for the best treatment without worrying about paying for those long medical bills, comprehensive health insurance plans are your solution. Here are some of the coverages under comprehensive health insurance plans.
In-patient and out-patient hospitalization
This insurance covers all your medical expenses incurred while you are hospitalized which include room expenses, nursing fees, medical bills, oxygen & ICU charges, etc. Under this, all your in-patient and out-patient costs are covered.
Pre & post hospitalization
When you are about to get hospitalized, you are bound to pay for admission charges, medical tests, and several other health checkups. This plan will certainly cover you from all those charges including post-hospitalization expenses like diagnostic tests, follow-up treatments, medication, etc.
Pre-existing diseases
This covers your range of pre-existing diseases medical conditions from asthma, diabetes, high/low blood pressure, and more. However, diseases are covered only after a waiting period of 1-4 years.
Daycare procedures
There are several treatments that do not require you to get hospitalized and can be undertaken in a hospital in less than 24 hours. For example, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, dialysis, etc. Your comprehensive health policy can reimburse the cost of all these treatments.
Read: What is day care treatment?
Domiciliary hospitalization
There are times when a patient has to undergo medical treatment at home or the patient is just unable to go to the hospital. This comprehensive insurance plan covers you in those situations.
Read: Domiciliary hospitalization in health insurance
Treatment for critical illness
Your comprehensive insurance policy will have you covered at the time of the treatment for severe illnesses like cancer, liver failure, kidney failure, heart attacks, and paralysis amongst others.
Family coverage
If you see the most comprehensive health insurance plans in India, they do cover your entire family. You have the option to cover your spouse, children, and parents. Some policies even cover your parents-in-law.
Organ donor expenses
If a person has to undergo an organ transplant, for instance, a kidney transplant then this comprehensive insurance plan will have you covered.
Emergency ambulance expenses
There are times when you have to have an absolute emergency to use the ambulance facility. You can claim the cost of an ambulance for such medical emergencies under this comprehensive insurance health plan.
Add on covers
While choosing your comprehensive insurance plan, you have an option to expand your coverage with several add-on covers besides your basic coverage. Some of the most common add-on covers are maternity insurance, newborn baby cover, AYUSH treatment (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy), personal accident cover, hospital cash cover, etc.
What is not included in a comprehensive health plan?
While you are looking for the best comprehensive health plan, it is equally important to know what is not covered under it.
Cosmetic surgery
All your cosmetic surgery including Botox, plastic surgery, or any other beauty treatments are not covered under comprehensive health insurance.
Health supplements
All the health supplements like health tonics, protein shake consumed by an individual are not covered under comprehensive health insurance. If it is prescribed by your doctor, then it might be covered under the policy.
What to consider before purchasing comprehensive health insurance?
Buying a comprehensive health insurance plan is the best investment you can make. However, if you buy it last minute you will end up wasting a lot of money with inadequate coverage. Here are a few things to consider while purchasing comprehensive health insurance.
- Firstly, make sure you buy a comprehensive health insurance plan early in life. You will have more reasonable premiums and get through the waiting period faster.
- Your insurance providers offer you a range of coverages. Make sure you first look around, compare different health insurance plans and then decide on the one that best fits your needs.
- Make sure you re-check the add-ons, riders, terms & conditions, what is covered and not covered in your comprehensive health insurance policy before you purchase it.
- Do not hide any information including your past medical history, or personal information from your insurance provider.
- Lastly, you have the option to customize your comprehensive insurance plan. Make sure you use different add-ons to make your coverage better.
Benefits of having comprehensive health insurance
Wide coverage
Under your single policy, comprehensive health insurance offers a wide range of coverages such as hospitalization expenses, life-threatening severe diseases (cancer, liver failure and more), and organ donor expenses among many others.
Cashless claims
Your comprehensive health insurance plan usually offers cashless claims facilities making it hassle-free for patients. You do not have to worry about paying bills upfront, your insurer will take care of all the billing processes directly with their network hospitals.
Additional coverages
Comprehensive health insurance plan offers you additional benefits that are not available in your basic health insurance plans. For instance, no room rent capping which means there is no limit to your room rent in your policy. Moreover, the comprehensive health insurance plan includes a refill sum insured where your SI will get replenished if you exhaust it during the time of your policy.
Cashless claims
Your hospital bills are directly paid by your insurance provider under cashless claims. You do not have to pay upfront. Make sure you go to one of the network hospitals of your insurer and avail cashless claim facility.
Cumulative bonus
There is a cumulative bonus benefit in your comprehensive health insurance plan. For instance, if you do not make any claims during the year, you will get an increase in your sum insured amount. Your insurance provider will not charge any extra premium on that.
Renewability for lifetime
When you purchase a comprehensive health insurance plan, it comes with a lifetime renewability facility. This means that you can continue benefiting from the plan as long as you pay your premium timely.
Read: Claim process in health insurance
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