Here’s How You Can Prevent Health Insurance Discomforts
In today’s day and age, health insurance is a boon for every individual. The utmost way one can easily afford medical treatment during a medical emergency without worrying about finances, health insurance is a massive support one can ask for. Designed specifically to meet the diverse medical needs of individuals, be it kids, adults, or senior citizens, health insurance is a one-stop solution you can rely on to avoid yourself from encountering a lack of funds and to gain peace of mind. All in all, the significance of health insurance at the present time cannot be justified in mere words.
Needless to say, health insurance is a gift for those who want to stay far away from the stress of any kind during an unexpected medical emergency. However, there are times when health insurance becomes a cause of worries. Yes, health insurance can come across as distressing at times even when you are paying a premium on time! The best way to prevent the same from taking place? Being aware of all reasons for distress and keeping them in mind while buying a health insurance plan.
Here is a list of common discomforts of health insurance and their ideal solution for prevention:
- Change in Terms & Conditions - :
There are times when health insurance companies change terms and conditions in their policy document. Addition or removal of a hospital from the network list, inclusion or exclusion of a specific disease, are a few prime changes that can take place in terms and conditions.
If a change in terms and conditions is a cause of worry for you, it would be best to switch your insurance company with the help of the portability option. Make sure you choose the best policy after performing a detailed comparison from every aspect and then make a final choice.
- Not Getting Cashless Claim - :
When people buy a health insurance policy, they think that they won’t have to pay money for a medical emergency. While the concept of cashless claim may be true, the fact is that a cashless claim facility too comes with a few provisions. The benefit of cashless claim hospitalisation is allowed when one avails treatment in a network hospital. Nevertheless, there are also cases when the insurance company is not able to identify the insured within the desired time and ask to settle the bill from his or her own pocket, thereby causing massive financial inconvenience to the insured.
The perfect way to avoid this stressful situation is checking beforehand that whether or not the hospital is listed in policy document for cashless claim facility. Obtaining a pre-approval from the insurance company is always a better way to prevent authorisation delay.
- Increase in Premium - :
An insurance company may allow increase in premium amount owing to change in the age slab or certain changes in the cost structure. Those enjoying their health insurance policy from a long period may find this sudden increase in premium worrisome.
To handle such a situation without getting effected in a major way, the ideal option for policyholders is to make use of the porting facility and switch the policy to any other insurance company that is providing similar coverage at a low premium charge.
- Rejected Cover Owing to Pre-existing Disease - :
Coverage for pre-existing diseases comes with a few years of wait or ‘waiting period’, as they call it. In case, insured individual forgets this clause, he or she may have to pay all the pre-existing disease cost from their own pocket.
To avoid the financial burden, it is advisable to mention all the pre-existing ailments beforehand (at the time of policy purchase) so that you are not denied coverage at the last moment and there are no disputes regarding claim settlement in the future.
- Shelling Out from Savings Despite Health Insurance Cover - :
Every health insurance company has their own list of exclusions. In case, you have switched from one company to the other, note that there are chances of a drastic change in the exclusions list. In such a case, if you were to opt for a specific treatment, you won’t be able to since it is excluded in the policy of your new company.
The best way to avoid spending from your own pocket despite having an insurance cover is to check the list of exclusions before porting and before renewing your existing policy.
Conclusion
You can avoid a string of health insurance discomforts by making your choices diligently.
Now that you know basic issues that people encounter even after investing in the best policy and paying a timely premium, make sure you don’t repeat their mistakes.