Posted by As we all know, health is wealth, and staying healthy is paramount when it comes to living. This is because you only enjoy life to its fullest when your body is wholly fit and free from diseases.
One of the ways to achieve this is through health insurance and understanding the different benefits of health insurance packages so that you can make informed decisions when purchasing a health insurance plan.
A wise man once said that illness does to your bank account what running tap does to the tank; it empties it.
So, to prevent some health conditions from emptying your bank account, it’s important you consider having health insurance coverage to avoid financial breakdown in times of health challenges.
You can also agree with us that amongst the various problems a lot of people faced during the pandemic, the most crucial was their inability to foot their medical bills due to a lack of financial planning and zero health insurance coverage plans.
To help bring an end to these problems, we will be considering the benefits that come along with having insurance coverage. But before we do that, let’s have an in-depth understanding of what health insurance is.
What Is Health Insurance?
Health insurance is a type of insurance that safeguards your health and ensures you are offered the best medical treatment when needed.
Insurance policies are an advantage to societies that suffer poor medical attention because they help the insured to access first-hand healthcare by trained medical professionals.
Just like other insurance types, there are various kinds of health insurance which have been discussed below.
Types of Health Insurance
Below are the types of health insurance:
Overview of Health Insurance Types
1. Individual Health Insurance
This is a type of health insurance that you purchase to cover yourself, your spouse children, or parents. Individual health insurance covers your medical bills for injury, illness, and other hospital-related costs
2. Family Floater Health Insurance
This is a very affordable plan for a family. It is not advisable to add a family member older than 60 years to the policy. This is because it will impact the cost of the premium.
3. Group Health Insurance
A Group Health Insurance policy is designed for a group of employees working together.
So if you own a start-up or a corporate house, you should buy such plans for your employees. It is a kind of benefit offered to the employees.
As an employer, you can buy the cover to boost the rate of employee retention.
A very crucial point here is that the employees are covered only till the time they work with your company.
4. Senior Citizens’ Health Insurance
The health insurance policy that is dedicatedly designed for old people above the age of 60 years is called the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plan. If your parents or grandparents are above 60, then this cover is a good choice for you.
Some insurers may ask for a complete body check-up before they sell a Senior Citizen Health Insurance Policy.
The maximum entry age limit has been pushed to 70 years of age with lifetime renewability.
And, as we know, senior citizens are more prone to illnesses, these plans are more expensive than other health insurance policies.
5. Maternity Health Insurance
A Maternity cover can be bought along with the basic health insurance plan.
All the expenses incurred in the prenatal stage, delivery, and post-natal stage are covered.
Newly married couples or families who are planning a baby in the coming years should buy this policy.
It covers child delivery, infertility expenses, and coverage for the newborn baby up to its first 90 days.
6. Critical Illness Insurance
The occurrence of lifestyle-related diseases is fast-rising. Keeping this in mind, the insurance companies have offered the Critical Illness Policy.
This plan covers sicknesses like:
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Kidney Failure
- Paralysis
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
- First heart attack
- Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
- Aorta Graft Surgery.
Nothing can be a smarter move than buying a Critical Illness Policy as it prevents any impact on your savings. The policy has lifetime renewability.
If you take the Critical Illness Policy, then you should survive for 30 days after diagnosis of the illness.
It will be wise to buy this policy if you have a family history of some diseases.
Other than the lump sum amount, a Critical Illness Policy reimburses you for the cost of care and hospitalization expenses.
But you should remember that once a claim is filed, then the Sum Insured is released in a lump sum. After the release of the Sum Insured, the policy terminates.
7. Top-Up Health Insurance
You can buy a top-up plan if you seek coverage for higher amounts. But such plans come with a “Deductible Clause”. So, in case of a claim the payment will be made over and above a defined limit mentioned in the policy.
Now that you are familiar with the various kinds of health insurance, let’s dive right into the benefits of having a health insurance plan.
Top 10 Benefits of Health Insurance
Below are the benefits of health insurance:
- comprehensive coverage
- Financial Security
- Access to quality health support
- Mental Health Support
- Peace of Mind
- Protection for Your Family
- Access to Specialized Treatments
- Reduced Out-of-Pocket Expenses
- Timely and Appropriate Medical Care
- Coverage for Pre-existing Conditions.
Health Insurance Benefits Explained
1. Comprehensive Coverage
Modern health insurance plans offer comprehensive coverage that goes beyond hospitalization expenses.
Many policies cover outpatient services, prescription medications, diagnostic tests, and even mental health treatments.
This wide-ranging coverage ensures that your health needs are completely met, reducing the financial burden on your family and promoting your overall well-being.
2. Financial Security
Health insurance acts as a safety net, protecting you from unexpected and overwhelming medical expenses.
Without health insurance, even minor ailments or accidents can lead to significant financial burdens.
Also, health insurance helps you avoid dipping into savings or taking on debt to cover medical bills, ensuring financial stability during challenging times.
3. Access to Quality Healthcare Support
What is healthcare insurance without access to quality support and treatment? Health insurance enables you to go for medical checkups, grants you access to doctors, and so on without having to worry about the high cost.
4. Mental Health Support
As we all know, the stigma surrounding mental health can be approached through the introduction of therapy, counseling, etc and these approaches have been adopted by health insurance companies to solve the issue of mental health.
5. Peace of Mind
There is this feeling of satisfaction that comes with knowing that your health is sorted. Yeah, that’s peace of mind. It’s one of the best feelings one could have.
6. Protection for Your Family
Many health insurance offer family packages or coverage. Who are we if we don’t care for the health of our family?
Well, one of the ways to demonstrate our affection for our loved ones is by making sure that their health is taken care of.
7. Access to Specialized Treatments
Some medical conditions require specialized treatments or consultations with experts in specific fields.
Health insurance often provides coverage for such specialized care, ensuring that you can access the best medical expertise when needed.
This access to specialized treatments can make a significant difference in the outcome of certain health conditions.
8. Reduced Out-of-Pocket Expenses
Different packages come with health insurance plans. These include coinsurance, deductibles, and copayments.
So, it’s always easier for you to pay or enroll for what you want and not the whole package.
9. Timely and Appropriate Medical Care
Regular check-ups and appropriate medical care are all benefits of health insurance.
So, what are you waiting for before you insure your health? We believe it’s one of those decisions you can never regret.
10. Coverage for Pre-existing Conditions
Those days, healthcare insurance used to overlook pre-existing conditions. It is no longer like that.
Many health insurance plans now cover already existing conditions, by providing people with deadly sicknesses the opportunity to manage their health more effectively and also get to receive quality and adequate treatments.
The above are the benefits you get when you purchase health insurance for yourself, family or loved ones.
FAQ on the Benefits of Health Insurance
Why is having health insurance so necessary?
You must have read and heard too much about buying health insurance as early as possible in life. Purchasing health insurance very early in life has its benefits and one of them is purchasing your plan at a lower cost compared to when you buy it at a later age.
Why Should I Have Health Insurance?
Over the years, the price of health care bills has skyrocketed drastically. Hospital bills are now so high. Hence the need to have a health insurance plan cannot be sidelined. To save you the money and stress of hospital bills, it's better you have your health insured.
What is a pre-existing condition?
This is a medical condition present in an individual before the effective date of the insurance plan.
Conclusion
It’s now obvious the challenges one faces when choosing an insurance plan.
Well, GETIMMUNIFIED is here to provide you with all the information you might need regarding health insurance benefits.
So, below are some helpful tips for you when making your health insurance decisions.
Helpful tips:
- Thoroughly plan the amount to be insured
- Choose the plan with the minimum waiting period
- Check for the maximum age of renewal
- Buy health insurance policies from companies that have a fast claim settlement ratio
- Choose the insurance company that has the widest network of hospitals on their list.
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