What's inside? 🧐
- Introduction
- How do you get the best possible cover for your parents, when getting medical tests is tricky?
- Choosing the right policy: A step-by-step approach
Option 1 (The best possible option): Comprehensive plans that are available to Senior Citizens.
Option 2 (Second best option): Special Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plans that don't required medical tests
Option 3 (The last resort): Enrolling into Group Health Insurance from Banks
- Option 1 (The best possible option): Comprehensive plans that are available to Senior Citizens.
- Option 2 (Second best option): Special Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plans that don't required medical tests
- Option 3 (The last resort): Enrolling into Group Health Insurance from Banks
- Things to check before enrolling under senior citizen health insurance plans
Introduction
Our need for a health insurance is directly proportionate to our age. Such needs peak once you or your parents hit 60.
You can see the first signs of degrading health - increased medicine intake, the knee pains, weakness, imbalance (which leads to falls in the bathroom), losing clear vision, hearing problems (all of which they deny, till a certain point), apart from of course health conditions like Hypertension(BP), Diabetes, Vertigo and more.
An insurer's interest in acquiring you as a customer, covering you, is, however, inversely proportionate to your age. The older you get, the lesser the chances of you getting approved into the top plans in the country (at an affordable cost).
Also, the plans that you come across as recommendations have massive conditions, and even more mind-boggling premiums.
The question is then how to go about covering your ageing parents? Here's a quick guide to buy health insurance plans for parents.
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Wouldn't my corporate policy or a policy I bought through a group be enough?
Yes, an employer facilitated policy is a good solution >> It may cover existing diseases too and provide seamless cashless service - but remember it is not a long-term solution.
- Your cover is linked to your employment. It stops as soon as you leave the organisation.
- Portability, promised by your insurance broker, or HR is subject to underwriting (medical evaluation) of the case, and insurers may reject your portability application
- Lastly, an employer facilitated cover is under a group insurance scheme. Remember, group insurance schemes are one year policies, and the policy, the terms of the policy, the benefits, the pricing everything can be withdrawn/changed at the time of renewal. A change in budget by your CFO or hike in premiums by an insurer can change the dynamics. Please realise you have no control or say in this policy.
As mentioned, keep an employer-driven group policy, if it is for free (obviously: )) or for serving short-term hospitalisations you foresee, till you complete your waiting periods in the retail policy.
In the long run, you need a policy that is not linked to your employment, and where you exercise control over benefits, coverage, etc.
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How do you get the best health insurance for senior citizens, when getting medical tests is tricky?
Here's our attempt to help you with some step-by-step strategies that aim to extract the best possible cover for your parents in their existing health conditions.
Establish Ground Zero: A quick self-assessment of your parents’ health
Get your magnifying glasses out. You are a detective on a mission. You will need to gather a detailed account of your parents’ medical history. Guess nothing.
- You: Begin with what you know. Make a list of all ailments and diseases that you know they have.
- Parents: Second, speak to them and fill in any blanks you might have left.
- Documents: Next, get your hands on their medical file, and make a note of anything they might have missed telling you.
Look at all the medication they take and check why these are required.
It is important to look for conditions that they might not consider ‘diseases’, and might skip. For instance, most parents feel hypertension (BP) is not a disease/health condition 🙂 (but, insurers do)
Lastly, make a list of all the surgeries, hospitalizations in the past
- Look at all the medication they take and check why these are required.
- It is important to look for conditions that they might not consider ‘diseases’, and might skip. For instance, most parents feel hypertension (BP) is not a disease/health condition 🙂 (but, insurers do)
- Lastly, make a list of all the surgeries, hospitalizations in the past
- Family Doctor: Next, contact your family doctor to get any further missing details.
This will give you deep insights into their health status, and help you cover their health better. It also makes sure you do everything right, so you do not have disputes in claims when you need it.
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Choosing the right policy: A step-by-step approach
Option 1 (Healthy Parents option): Comprehensive plans that are open to Senior Citizens
These are mainstream health insurance plans with no entry age limit, and the best possible benefits, lowest limits, exclusions, and financial conditions like Copay. While these plans are expensive, if your parents are relatively healthy, these are some plans that you should first attempt applying to before you choose Senior Citizen specific plans (discussed later below)