What Is Health Insurance?
Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of an insured individual’s medical and surgical expenses. Depending on the type of health insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out-of-pocket and is then reimbursed, or the insurer makes payments directly to the provider.
In health insurance terminology, the “provider” is a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, health care practitioner, or pharmacy. The “insured” is the owner of the health insurance policy; the person with the health insurance coverage.
Need for Health Insurance
Medicare or medical costs are rising year on year. As a matter of fact, inflation in medicare is higher than inflation in food and other articles. While inflation in food and clothing is in single digits, medicare costs usually escalate in double digits.
Take heart surgery, the cost of which today could vary in the region of Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs.
Estimates reveal that a heart surgery performed today @ Rs 2 lakhs will cost over Rs 3.22 lakhs after 5 years. After 10 years it will be Rs 5.19 and Rs 8.35 lakhs after 15 years.
For an individual who hasn’t saved that much money, arranging for funds at the eleventh hour can be a task. This is particularly daunting for seniors, given that most ailments strike at an advanced age.
One way to provide for health-related / medical emergencies is by taking health insurance. Health insurance offers considerable flexibility in terms of disease / ailment coverage. For instance, certain health insurance plans cover as many as 30 critical illnesses and over 80 surgical procedures. The insurance plan disburses the payment towards surgery/illness regardless of actual medical expenses. The policy continues even after the benefit payment on selected illnesses.
With health insurance, you are assured of a more secure future both health-wise and money-wise. This makes health insurance critical for individuals, especially if they are responsible for the financial well-being of the family.