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Treatment and hospitalization costs have been increasing at a rapid rate over the years. Tackling a medical emergency can wipe off the savings of your lifetime. It is for this reason that a cashless health insurance policy is necessary for every family today. Cashless claim settlement has greatly benefitted the policyholders in recent years. If you are planning your finances, you should definitely consider buying a mediclaim policy. You may go for an individual mediclaim policy for yourself, or a comprehensive policy for your family.
Cashless hospitalization comes to your rescue, when you need to be admitted to the hospital, but have no funds on an emergent basis in your hands. You simply need to inform about the hospitalization to the insurer. The bills will be settled by the insurance company, and the policyholder need not pay any bill. All the monetary transactions will be done directly by the insurance company to the hospital. You need not pay the amount at the outset, or wait for the reimbursement from the insurer. The entire treatment process becomes cashless, when you have a mediclaim policy.
What is cashless treatment?
On purchasing a mediclaim policy, you can avail cashless treatment from the network hospitals of the insurer. Every reputed health insurance company has a good network of hospitals, where the policyholders can enjoy the cashless benefits. Through this facility, the insured person can get hospitalized in any of these hospitals without any prior payment of money. All the bills and hospitalization charges are cleared by the insurer at the time of release of the patient. Through cashless treatment, you can get all most of the medical expenses covered, including the cost of medicines, doctor’s charges, treatment costs and other relevant expenses.
When you buy a health insurance policy for cashless treatment from a reputed company, the in-house administration team handles the claim procedures to ensure fast settlements. Have a look at the policies that the reputed insurance companies have in the offering.
Features of mediclaim or cashless health insurance policies
Most of the reputed insurers have designed customized schemes for the policyholders. However, the clauses and provisions may vary from one insurer to another. Some of the standard features of the health insurance policies include:
- Medical expenses, both pre and post hospitalization
- In-patient care
- No claim bonus
- Ambulance charge coverage
- Daily cash benefits
- Critical illness coverage
- Free look period
- Tax benefits
- Domiciliary treatment coverage
- Complementary diagnostic tests and medical check-ups
The mediclaim policy may also include customized benefits like Ayush treatment, maternity expenses, transportation costs, etc. Any time the policyholder needs to be hospitalized, you need not worry about the funds when you have a cashless health insurance policy.
Benefits of cashless health insurance
A health insurance policy is a necessity for every household today. It keeps you financially insured against all possible expenses that may arise due to a sudden hospitalization of the family members, or yourself.
Check out the benefits of a cashless health insurance policy.
Financial support during medical emergencies: Medical emergencies are unforeseen, and in case you need to admit any of your family members to a hospital, it may lead to a lot of unplanned expenses. It is wise to plan these expenses in an organized way in advance. It is for this reason that most people are buying mediclaim policy for themselves and their family. During critical moments, it may become difficult to arrange the finances to tackle the expenses. You would not want to keep the treatment on hold due to funding issues. On producing the health insurance documents or cards, you can seek cashless treatments from the network hospitals.
Stay relieved in case of hospitalization: With a cashless health insurance scheme, you have the assurance that financial issues will not be a hurdle to your treatment. The cashless process ensures that you can seek a hassle-free treatment from any of the hospitals in the network. The reputed health insurance companies collaborate with hospitals having excellent facilities and infrastructure. Most importantly, in case of critical illnesses like heart attacks and brain strokes, the admission process does not get delayed. You can focus on quality treatment, rather than worrying for the funds.
Range of coverage: When you buy a cashless health insurance policy, you can get almost all medical expenses covered. These include the ambulance expenses, pre and post hospitalization expenses, domiciliary treatment, in-patient care and so on. Besides, you can also benefit from the diagnostic tests and regular health checkups, that are covered by some of the policies.
Keeping your health safe during travels: When you travel, you might worry about getting quality treatment, in case any health issue arises. Buying a comprehensive mediclaim policy for your family will do away with these uncertainties. The reputed insurance companies have an extensive network of hospitals, encompassing all the cities in India. Regardless of where you are, you can enjoy cashless benefits in case of medical emergencies during travels. You need not worry about the medical expenses when you are on a tour, as the insurer will take care of the same.
Tax benefits: The premiums that you pay for cashless health insurance schemes can fetch you cash benefits. Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961, you can get tax benefits up to INR 25,000 on an annual basis, while senior citizens can get a benefit up to INR 50,000.
What type of health insurance policy is right for you?
You can choose from any of the following types of health insurance policies:
- Individual cashless health insurance: These schemes cover only the policyholder against all the expenses arising as a result of hospitalization. You can also obtain certain other benefits, as per the clause so of the package.
- Family cashless health insurance: A comprehensive health insurance policy covers all the members of a family. This is more economical for you, in case you are the sole earning member.
- Cashless health insurance for senior citizens: These schemes are customized especially for senior citizens. Considering that people may incur more medical expenses on aging, a mediclaim policy for senior citizens keeps the family financially secured against medical expenses.
Check out the popular schemes to find the right health insurance policy for you and your family.
