As the name suggests, health insurance for senior citizens means medical insurance for people who are 60 years or above in age. We all expect a healthy life for ourselves at every stage of life, but illnesses can bring a drastic change in life. All human beings can accept the fact that threat of health-related risks increase with age.
When the body grows older, it brings along new challenges in life. Health issues are the most expected, specifically during old age. Thus, senior citizen health insurance is essential for old age people to live a peaceful life. Considering the rising cost of health insurance services in India, sufficient health insurance is absolutely crucial for the entire family.
With age comes illness, and complications among senior citizens is diabetes. Diabetes highly attacks most of the body organs. Also, a heart attack is another common condition among old age people which should be controlled with regular exercise and a healthy diet.
As the age grows, due to a weak immune system, older people fall victims to sicknesses. Hence, senior citizens must possess proper health care insurance. The majority of senior citizens don’t have a stable income source, so that medical expenses will create a significant financial burden on them and the family.
After all, we all have the right to relish our lives to the fullest. The decision of purchasing senior citizen health insurance proves to be best when people fall sick in old age. This policy helps old age people to look after their health and find appropriate medical help when required.
Under the revised IRDA guidelines, all health insurance companies have to offer proper cover to individuals up to 65 years of age and provide renewability for a lifetime. Insurance policy aids individuals to get cover at later life stages and allow them to switch insurance company if they are not happy with their current insurance company.
Senior citizen, health insurance policy, covers medical expenses including doctor fees, medicine costs, room and ambulance charges, etc. Some of the insurance plans also offer coverage for critical illnesses and take care of pre and post-hospitalization expenses.
Here are 3 things that you should keep in mind while buying medical insurance for senior citizens.
Coverage for in-patient hospitalization:
The insurance company gives in-patient hospitalization coverage for the policyholder’s medical expenses when he/she is admitted to the hospital for more than 24 hours.
Limitations on post-hospitalization expenses:
Typically the post-hospitalization eligibility is 60 – 90 days. However, for many health insurances, the post-hospitalization period has been shrunk down. Many plans state that the post-hospitalization coverage would be about 7 to 10 percent of the claimed amount. You should always thoroughly check the terms before purchasing the policy.
Restrictions on the number of day-care hospitalizations:
These are procedures that can be completed in less than 24 hours at a hospital—for instance, surgeries like cataract, dialysis, chemotherapy, etc. Though many health insurance policies for senior citizens do cover daycare facilities, some plans restrict that number. Before buying any health insurance plan, ensure that you know the number of daycare facilities available under the policy.
