The Changing Face of Senior Citizens" Health Insurance
Health insurance is considered to be a necessity today. However, a lot of people are deprived of this protection, one of the reasons for this being old age. Senior citizens often find it difficult to find health insurance plans that suit their needs.
Insurance becomes all the more important for elderly people. As a person ages, his/her proximity to critical illness and diseases increases. The lack of monetary resources on ready disposal during old age is one of the reasons why senior citizens should avail insurance policies that safeguard their well being. In addition to safeguarding their health, a good insurance policy prevents severe financial crises during the time of a medical emergency.
Finding the right medical insurance policy for senior citizens was quite an arduous task back in the day. This was so because most of the insurance providers were reluctant to offer coverage due to higher chances of claim. Those who did offer insurance policies charged exorbitant rates of premium, making it almost impossible for senior citizens to buy health insurance when they needed the most. Also, one was left without choices with regards to insurers if he/she was not satisfied with the current insurance provider's service.
In order to improve on this situation, there were amendments made by the Government of India in 2009. According to the new guidelines, every insurer has to offer coverage to individuals up to the age of 65.
A good health insurance plan for senior citizens should provide coverage for hospitalisation. This should include all the expenses incurred by the patient after admission of more than 24 hours. Room charges, nursing fees, cost of medicines and drugs etc. should be included. Also, within the purview of the health insurance plan are the day care expenses which arise from the use of special procedures and equipments. A good insurance plan is that which holds the upper limit for medical expenses both prior and post hospitalisation. A careful perusal of available insurance providers and their policy schemes should be done for the same.
You should settle for a health insurance plan which allows the maximum age of joining. This is a truly a boon for senior citizens who are late entrants into buying medical insurance for themselves. In addition to this, there should be no sub limits on ICU costs. This is helpful because senior citizens may require ICU facilities more often than their young counterparts. A policy that has no waiting period for an accident cover is deemed as an advantage over the others.
Therefore, it is imperative that you go carefully through the policies offered by different companies before zeroing in a particular insurance provider.
Insurance becomes all the more important for elderly people. As a person ages, his/her proximity to critical illness and diseases increases. The lack of monetary resources on ready disposal during old age is one of the reasons why senior citizens should avail insurance policies that safeguard their well being. In addition to safeguarding their health, a good insurance policy prevents severe financial crises during the time of a medical emergency.
Finding the right medical insurance policy for senior citizens was quite an arduous task back in the day. This was so because most of the insurance providers were reluctant to offer coverage due to higher chances of claim. Those who did offer insurance policies charged exorbitant rates of premium, making it almost impossible for senior citizens to buy health insurance when they needed the most. Also, one was left without choices with regards to insurers if he/she was not satisfied with the current insurance provider's service.
In order to improve on this situation, there were amendments made by the Government of India in 2009. According to the new guidelines, every insurer has to offer coverage to individuals up to the age of 65.
A good health insurance plan for senior citizens should provide coverage for hospitalisation. This should include all the expenses incurred by the patient after admission of more than 24 hours. Room charges, nursing fees, cost of medicines and drugs etc. should be included. Also, within the purview of the health insurance plan are the day care expenses which arise from the use of special procedures and equipments. A good insurance plan is that which holds the upper limit for medical expenses both prior and post hospitalisation. A careful perusal of available insurance providers and their policy schemes should be done for the same.
You should settle for a health insurance plan which allows the maximum age of joining. This is a truly a boon for senior citizens who are late entrants into buying medical insurance for themselves. In addition to this, there should be no sub limits on ICU costs. This is helpful because senior citizens may require ICU facilities more often than their young counterparts. A policy that has no waiting period for an accident cover is deemed as an advantage over the others.
Therefore, it is imperative that you go carefully through the policies offered by different companies before zeroing in a particular insurance provider.
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