Why health insurance is important for us ?

Bhaskar Nerurkar *

Many of us are affected by various diseases due to lifestyle changes. Also, modern life exposes us touncertain accidental situations and to infections. This means that we may require medical care at some point of time in life.

One cannot really predict when they may face a medical emergency, and only a few may have sufficient financial support to deal with unexpected medical expenses. For others, a medical emergency normally marks a deep dent in their pocket, leading to financial difficulties.

Such unpredicted situations can be managed better by opting for a health insurance policy. A health insurance policy can cover the costs of hospitalization, pre and post-hospitalization expenses, surgery charges, OPD bills, and other medical procedures in addition to covering severe ailments like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Kidney failure, amongst others.

It is always recommended to be well safeguarded during unexpected medical situations with health insurance policies that will provide financial protection to you and your family.

Let us understand Health Insurance in more detail

Benefits of Health Insurance: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many people across the globe, but most importantly, it has taught us that anything could happen at any time. Over time it signified the importance of a health insurance policy, especially for unexpected medical episodes.

There are various reasons to buy a Health Insurance Policy, and if you don’t have one now or are considering buying one, here’s a list of reasons that will make you realize how important health insurance is.

1. Safeguards your family : Family safety is the priority for every person. If any family member has a medical emergency and you want them to get the best care possible without worrying about the finances, In that case health insurance policy is of great help.

It is essential to know that any individual between the age of 18-65 is eligible to buy health insurance cover and similarly, children between the age of 90 days to 18 years are also eligible.

2. Covers various Expenses - Every treatment now comes with a heavy bill due to the substantial rise in medical inflation. Hence, health insurance policies cover not only hospitalization expenses but also various other allied expenses like ambulance charges, room rent expen- ses, and nurse charges, to name a few.

3. Cashless treatment - The term “network hospitals” refers to the hospitals included in the insurance company’s network. At a point when you enter one of these network hospitals of an insurer for treatment, you have to simply show your health care card (or even your insurance contract number) after which the insurer and the hospital will settle your medical bills as per your policy’s terms and conditions.

If you pick a non-network hospital, in that case too, you don’t have to worry, you will have to pay for the treatment initially and later you can file a reimbursement with the insurer.

4. Free Medical Check-Ups and Other Benefits- Some companies only give you a free check-up if you haven’t claimed insurance in a few years. However, many insurance companies now also give their customers a free medical check-ups as a free benefit or as part of wellness benefits.

An interesting benefit of a health insurance policy is known as the Cumulative Bonus or CB, where your policy’s sum insured will increase by a certain amount if you haven’t claimed insurance during the policy period. An additional benefit of having a health insurance policy is that OPD as well as Day Care treatments, are covered under select health policies offered by insurers

5. Enjoy the tax benefits – Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, you can claim tax deductions for the premium paid towards your health insurance policy. For individuals below 60 years of age, the deduction limit is up to Rs. 25,000, while for senior citizens, it goes up to Rs. 50,000.

It’s important to safeguard your loved ones and yourself from any medical emergency and health insurance will shield you from such unexpected circumstances. Many people have this “Nothing will happen to me” mindset, because of which they either do not opt for health insurance or don’t opt for sufficient coverage. But we bear witness that medical emergencies come unannounced, financially impacting our savings.

Hence a health insurance policy is an excellent investment at any age, but if taken at an early age, it will have many advantages, especially from a lower premium and waiting periods point of view. It is an inexpensive way to protect yourself and your family from unexpected medical bills but at the same time, provide you access to quality medical care.