Health insurance is one of the fastest growing areas in the insurance industry. It provides coverage against unforeseen hospitalization expenditure. It insures you against several illnesses and keeps you financially secure if you ever require treatment. Buying a health insurance policy offers a peace of mind; help to reduce stress about treatment expenses. They also help you to focus your energy on getting better treatment and acquiring good health faster.
Let’s understand why it is very important for every Indian to be covered under a health insurance plan:
1. Lifestyles have changed. Most Indians suffer from high levels of stress. They work for long hours, do not eat a balanced diet and depend on junk food, perform little or no exercise. Due to all these factors the chances of contracting illnesses have increased. Secondly, in urban India there is huge traffic on the roads that increases the chances of accidents.
2. Due to lifestyle changes most Indian are now obese, suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes. Hence, the chances of heart attacks and strokes which were earlier considered rare, now affect an increasing number of urban Indians. It is estimated that 30 % of the urban population suffer heart attacks before the age of 40 years.
3. The Hospitalization cost of health care expenses is unbelievably expensive. Modern research and technology have resulted in cures for dreaded diseases. However these cures have high operating cost and hence are available to a select few. In fact even among the affluent class of people, 10-20 % need to sell their valuable assets so that they can accumulate the total amount need for the treatment. It is estimated that the cost for hospitalization and other medical expenses would further rise with the increase in inflation.
According to a survey conducted average medical costs in a quality hospital and estimated costs in the future years.
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Estimated costs
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Health Ailments
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Approximate cost in 2010
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5years -2015
12% inflation
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10years- 2020
8% inflation
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20 years- 2030
8% inflation
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Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
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1,50,000-4,00,000
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2,64,000-7,05,000
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3,24,000-8,64,000
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6,99,000-18,65,000
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Angioplasty
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1,00,000-3,00,000
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1,76,200-5,28,000
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216,000- 6,48,000
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4,66,000-13,98,000
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Cataract
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25,000-50,000
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44,000- 88,000
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54,000-1,07,000
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1,17,000-2,33,000
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Lithotripsy
(Kidney stone removal)
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30,000- 50,000
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53,000- 88,000
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65,000-1,08,000
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1,40,000-2,33,000
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4. It is important to add indirect cost to understand the complete expenditure incurred for a medical treatment. An approximate of 35 % of the total costs is incurred as indirect expenses. Most individuals over look indirect expenses like travel, boarding, and lodging and even temporary loss of income when planning for medical expenses.
5. Most urban individuals insure their houses, vehicles, child’s education and even their retirement plans but forget to insure their health which is of out most importance. It is important to remember that medical emergencies strike without a warning and have a great impact on our finances and eat into our assets and investments in the absence of a good health insurance in india.
There are several types of health insurance Coverage policies that are available. You can buy the policy that best suits your requirement. It is suggested that you buy a policy of a maximum sum assured that you can pay.
Buying a health insurance policy is now possible at the click of a mouse. You need to visit the website of a dedicated broker and fill in the inquiry form. The health insurance expert would revert back with options that suit your needs and you can finalize the best health insurance policy and buy them without a hassle.
