Health Insurance Plans for Parents

Health Insurance Plans for Parents

Graceful aging is a key guide for a healthy mind, body and soul. An elderly individual is more likely to face health complications. The WHO states that people in older age may face cataracts, back, neck pain and osteoarthritis, diabetes, depression and dementia. Gift your parents with the best health insurance plan and secure savings despite any medical complications.

As parents age, they become vulnerable to specific and multiple health issues that can influence their overall well-being. Responding to these health issues effectively is important, and parents health insurance plays an important role in providing financial protection and access to requisite medical care. 

Why do parents need Health Insurance policies?

People who are nearing their 60’s have a high possibility of suffering from certain medical ailments. With the rising healthcare costs today, getting health insurance for parents is highly necessary and should be prioritised. A Health Insurance plan can help your parents to be prepared for any medical contingencies, ensuring timely care and quality treatment. The following key points make you understand why your parents must get a health insurance policy right away:

Financial independency

During a medical emergency, you would want to cover your bills on your own, not rely on your family members. You can do this with the help of health insurance. Health insurance is a financial risk management tool where risk is transferred to a pool of people. In this way, you won't have to depend on anyone else to pay your medical bills.

Keep your savings intact

A comfortable retirement requires years of savings. The decades of accumulated wealth can be depleted in just a single hospitalisation. If you want to prevent this from happening to you, all you need to do is invest in a senior citizen health insurance plan.

It compensates a lack of income

Consider how difficult it would be to cover medical bills through your pensions. With medical insurance for senior citizens on your side, you won't have to worry about anything like that. In case of a medical emergency, the policy will help you to minimise your out-of-pocket expenses.

Your plans will stay on track

A retirement plan is a dream of an individual through his years of savings. You could embark on a world tour or start a small business you've always wanted to. Senior health insurance helps to make your dreams come true. It ensures you are completely covered in the event of a medical emergency.

A best health insurance for parents is vital for managing chronic diseases by providing financial security and access to requisite medical services. Health insurance for parents offers coverage for regular doctor visits, long-term medications, diagnostic tests and lower out-of-pocket expenses.

How to choose the right health insurance for your parents?

A best health insurance plan for parents should ensure access to quality care, including specialist consultations and advanced treatments. Preventive services like annual check-ups and screenings assist in early detection and sound management of chronic conditions. Also, parents health insurance mainly includes coverage for lifestyle management programs, such as physical therapy and nutrition counselling, assisting in comprehensive disease management and enhancing the overall quality of life for parents.

Buy health insurance for parents

Health insurance for elderly parents assists with mobility and balance issues by covering treatments such as physiotherapy and rehabilitation, which are indispensable for improving strength and coordination. It also offers coverage for orthopedic consultations, diagnostic tests, and surgeries for conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis. 

Generally, health insurance policy for parents includes coverage for assistive devices such as walkers and braces, improving mobility and safety. Furthermore, home healthcare services provided under parents health insurance assist with day-to-day activities enabling parents to maintain independence, decrease fall risk, and improve overall quality of life. 

Health insurance policy for parents helps with sensory impairments by covering the cost of integral medical services and treatments. This includes hearing tests, regular eye exams, and required surgeries for conditions such as cataracts and glaucoma. Health insurance for parents also provides top coverage for corrective lenses, hearing aids, and other assistive devices, improving vision and hearing capabilities.

Best Health Insurance for Parents in India

Parents Health Insurance Tax Benefit

Parents health insurance offers significant tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. You can claim a deduction of up to Rs 25,000 for premiums paid for your parents below 60 years, and up to Rs 50,000 if they are 60 years or older. Furthermore, there is a separate deduction of up to Rs. 5,000 for preventive health check-ups for the entire family, including parents. These benefits reduce taxable income, resulting in substantial tax savings while ensuring that your parents have adequate health coverage. This financial relief makes managing healthcare expenses more affordable and sustainable.

With an increase in age, health often takes a back seat. Also, with time, medical inflation keeps your savings at risk. In this crisis, having the right and the best health insurance plan for your parents is always appreciated. You can also get peace of mind at your elderly age. Thus, the following list consists of some useful and effective tips which will help you choose the right health insurance plan for your parents.

Opt For Adequate Coverage

There's no limit for cover but according to your financial situation, you should see which company provides you the maximum coverage that should be evaluated in order to the premium paid by you. Just check before opting for a health insurance policy for your parents for the best value.

Flexibility

There are varieties of policies and each of these offers different flexibilities. Always go for this kind of policy that gives you substantial flexibility in terms of coverage, tenure, add-ons, the sum insured, etc.

Co-Payments

It is always better to opt for the lowest co-payment structure. Co-pays make your policy economical and affordable.

Look for Pre-existing Illness Coverage

Pre-existing diseases have to be covered with a minimal period. For example - 1 year or 6 months. Ensure if the policy covers your pre-existing diseases and their complications. Some policies do not offer so, choose the given one.

Age for Renewal

This depends on the policy and the customer, but there are such companies that offer 'Lifelong renewal'. Choose an insurer with the given options.

Claim Process

Make sure your policy has the simplest claim procedures to follow. Before wasting your time in the claim process, ensure yourself in advance about the process, or else certain difficulties have to be faced.

Benefits of Having Medical Insurance for Parents  

There are many benefits of buying Parents medical insurance. Here are some of the benefits of purchasing Medical insurance for parents :

Financial Safety 
Medical insurance offers financial protection against high medical costs. If your parents become ill and require hospitalization or surgery, then the medical bills for their treatment can be huge. In such cases, medical insurance helps cover these medical costs, so you do not need to worry about getting funds.   

Cashless Treatment 
Most medical insurance policies offer cashless hospitalization, where the insurer directly pays the hospital. This tries to prevent large out-of-pocket payments for treatment.   

Coverages for Pre and Post-Hospitalisation Expenses

Several health insurance policies cover medical expenses incurred before and after hospitalization up to a particular number of days. These medical expenses include medicines, follow-up visits, diagnostics, etc.    

Critical Illnesses Coverage 
Insurers offer dedicated critical illness plans that offer a lumpsum payout for diagnosing major health illnesses like cancer, stroke, heart attack, etc. This amount can help manage treatment. 

Tax Benefits 
Your premium for the health insurance for your parents qualifies for tax deductions below section 80D, up to ₹25,000 per year. This will help minimize your taxable income.

Steps To Make A Parent’s Cashless Health Insurance Claim

You can follow the given steps to make a cashless claim for your parent's health insurance:

• Getting treatment at the network hospital is the first step for a cashless claim. So, to avail of a cashless claim, admit your parents to network hospitals. 
• Inform your insurance provider or insurer immediately after getting admitted to the network hospital.   
• Once your parents are admitted, share the health card details with the hospital so that they can proceed with the procedures.
• Get the required medical treatment for your parents in the network hospital. 
• Finally, the insurance company will settle the claim. When all the treatments of your parents are over, when they are about to get discharged from the hospital, then your insurance provider will settle the medical bill. 

Factors to Consider in Health Insurance for Parents 

There are many factors that need to be considered when choosing Parents' health insurance plans. Here are some of the factors that have to be considered : 

Coverage Requirements

• When you buy health insurance for your parents, make sure that a chosen plan gives full coverage. Select a plan that offers coverage for different illnesses, particularly pre-existing conditions. Also, make sure to read the policy agreement carefully to understand the terms and conditions.

Parents Age

• Many insurance providers need to offer health insurance at a minimum age. As the entry age differs as per insurance companies, compare the various companies and their policies. So, before issuing the policy, examine the policy seeker's age as it impacts the premium rate.

  Sum Insured

• Choose a higher sum insured to use the benefit properly. 

Network Hospitals

• Buy an insurance policy with an extensive network of hospitals across various cities, as you never know when and where an emergency will happen. It is vital for senior citizens to ensure that they get medical coverage in the nearest hospitals.

Extra Coverage

• Consider these routine checkup charges, as the parents might need to have frequent visits to doctors. 

Co-Payment

• Most of the senior health insurance policies come with co-payment options, but not all of them. Always find a way to avail health insurance for parents with no or low co-payment restrictions.

 Premium Affordability

• Analyse your budget and decide the premium amount. Compare different policies to find the best coverage.

 Sub Limits

• Carefully read the sub-limits clause, as various policies have a definite coverage amount for a particular illness beyond which the coverage stops working.

Check certain other things while picking up the best mediclaim policy for parents. Here are some of the things that need to be considered while buying a mediclaim policy for parents :

Critical illness coverage:
See if your plans include coverage for life-threatening illnesses, which becomes common with age. 
Medical history: 
To get correct coverage and waiting periods, clearly state any pre-existing medical conditions your parents have. 
Waiting period for pre-existing conditions:
Compare policies and choose policies with fewer waiting periods. 
Network hospitals:
Select a parents mediclaim policy that has more quality hospitals near your parents' location. 
Sum insured:
Choose a high-sum insured to meet the potential medical expenses. 
Premium Costs:
Compare the premiums of various mediclaim plans to identify a balance that fits your budget. 
Policy reputation:
Check the insurance company's reputation to clearly find out about the claim settlement and customer service. 
Tax benefits:
See if there are tax deductions there on premiums paid for your parent's health insurance below Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.  
Daycare procedures: 
If applicable, look for daycare procedure coverages that fit your parents' healthcare needs. 
Age factor:
Premiums increase with age, so look into this factor deeply. 
Extra benefits:
See if your policy offers value-added services like health checkups.

How to Claim Health Insurance for Your Parents?

Here are the simple steps to claim a health insurance policy for your parents :

• Get treatment at a Network Hospital. 
• Inform your insurer as soon as possible.
• Share your health card details and necessary health-related information with the hospital. 
• Complete the pre-authorisation form, along with the required documents, submitted to the hospital authorities.
• If the request gets approved, the policyholder can go ahead with the treatment. At the time of discharge, all necessary documents must be signed, and any non-covered expenses, including co-payment, if applicable, should be paid.  
• Get the medical treatment.  
• Claim Settlement involves the insurance provider settling the remaining medical expenses directly with the hospital. 
  Point to Note: If the cashless claim is denied, the policyholder has to pay the hospital bill upfront and then submit a reimbursement claim request to the insurer.

How do you make a Reimbursement Health Insurance Claim for Parents?

Here are the steps to make a reimbursement claim for your parent's health insurance : 

• Inform your insurance provider or insurer after your parents are admitted to the non-network hospital. 
• Make sure that your parents avail medical treatment that is needed after getting admission to the hospital.
• You have to pay the medical expenses from your pocket at the discharge time when your parents get treatment at a non-network hospital. 
• Ask for the claim form from your insurer or insurance provider, or you can get it online from their official website. Then, fill out the required details in the claim form and attach the necessary documents.
• After submitting the claim form and documents, you can track your claim status of medical bills by visiting the official website of the insurer.
   

In case you face any difficulty in the claim process, you can reach out to your insurer by phone.

Buy the best medical insurance for parents that correctly suits the medical needs of your parents. The best medical insurance policy for parents in India will have easy procedures in both the Reimbursement Health Insurance Claim for Parents and Parent’s Cashless Health Insurance Claim methods.

Documents Needed For Health Insurance Claims

There are some main documents that are needed to file the claim, and without those documents, the claim will be rejected. For cashless claims at network hospitals on your insurance provider list, you will require only the health card that has been given to you by the insurance provider. Here are the documents that are needed for filing the reimbursement claim : 

• Claim form 
• Hospital bills
• Discharge summary
• ID proof
• Bank statement
• Health card or policy document
• KYC details

Which is the Best Medical Insurance for Parents above 50 years in India?

There are many companies which provide medical insurance for parents. The best medical insurance for parents above 50 years in India could be chosen based on the medical needs of your parents.  

Any person up to 65 years of age can invest in a health insurance policy. Regardless, it is always recommended to invest in the best medical insurance in the early stages of life to obtain the benefits it offers