Why is health insurance important?

Health cost is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. Medical inflation is highest in India. New diseases are emerging and their treatment cost is increasing. Health cost can make a big hole in the individual’s pocket if prior provision is not made in advance.

Medical emergencies come unannounced. To get the best medical facilities without a financial burden you will need health insurance. Buying a health cover is no longer an option but has become a compulsion. Only 1.1 billion of the Indian population which is less than 15% of the Indian population is covered through health insurance.

According to WHO statistics, 31% and 47% of the hospital admissions in urban and rural India are either financed by loans or through the sale of assets. Additionally, as per the statistics, 70% of Indians spend their entire income on healthcare and 3.2% of Indians fall under the poverty line owing to high medical bills.

Health Insurance has come up as a big relief. Health insurance increases accessibility to quality healthcare, private healthcare in particular where the costs remain a barrier for many. It will ensure that you get appropriate treatment in a timely manner. Irrespective of your financial capability, with an active policy you can avail the best treatment at any network of hospitals, with the clause that terms and conditions of the policy are met.

How Health Insurance Coverage Works

When you have insurance, you pay some costs and your insurance plan pays some:

Premium: A premium is a fixed amount you pay to your insurance plan, usually every month. You pay this even if you do not use medical care that month.

Deductible: If you need medical care, a deductible is the amount you pay for care before the insurance company starts to pay its share. Once you meet your deductible, your insurance company begins to cover some costs of your care. Some plans have lower deductibles, like $250. Some have higher deductibles, like $2,000. Many plans provide preventive services, and sometimes other care, before you’ve met your deductible.

Co-pay: A co-pay is a fixed amount you will pay for a medical service. For example, a visit to the doctor’s office might cost $150 if you didn’t have coverage. With health insurance, you may pay only $25 and the health plan would pay the rest.

Co-insurance: Co-insurance is similar to co-pay, except it’s a percentage of costs you pay. For instance, you may pay 20% of the cost of a $200 medical bill. So you would pay $40 and the health plan would pay the rest.

How Insurance Protects You

Insurance coverage protects you in two ways from high medical costs:

Out-of-pocket maximum: This is the total amount you will have to pay if you get sick. For example, if your plan has a $3,000 out of pocket maximum, once you pay $3,000 in deductibles, coinsurance, and co-pays the plan will pay for any covered care above that amount for the rest of the year.

No yearly or lifetime limits: Health plans in the Connect For Health Colorado Marketplace cannot put dollar limits on how much they will spend each year or over your lifetime to cover essential health benefits. After you’ve reached your out-of-pocket maximum, your insurance company must pay for all of your covered medical care with no limit.

Health insurance protects you from high medical costs. Imagine you had an emergency and immediately rush to the hospital. At that moment, you need to be having enough cash with you so that you could bear the hospital expenses, so in that case, health insurance will help you to bear the hefty hospital expenses.

Changing lifestyle:

There are a plethora of reasons to have a health insurance policy in place. Commuting, hectic work schedules, wrong eating habits, quality of food, and rising levels of pollution have increased the risk of developing health problems.

Rising medical costs:

Medical costs have dramatically risen lately. So, in case of a medical emergency, consumers end up spending their savings, which takes a toll on their future plans.

Additional benefits:

One also gets benefits such as ambulance coverage, coverage for day-care surgeries, coverage for health check-ups and vaccination expenses under health insurance.

I think health insurance is mandatory for everyone. There are many policies in the market and one can pick one that suits their needs. For me, my parents have a policy that covers me as well.

A good health insurance policy often covers:

Doctor consultation fees

Medical tests

Ambulance charges

Hospitalization costs

Recovery costs

I suggest you do thorough research before picking a policy.