Choosing Health Insurance for Senior Citizens

With age, health complications start knocking at the door. Therefore, senior citizens over the age of 60 years may have frequent needs for medical assistance. But regular salaries stop at the standard retirement age of 60 years. Hence, health insurance plans for senior citizens are crucial for senior citizen health insurance schemes to safeguard retirement funds.

As a senior citizen, if you are looking for health coverage, here are some factors to consider:

Entry age boundary

Look for plans with a broad minimum age at the entry range to buy the policy after turning 60.

Renewal age limits

In 2020, the life expectancy of 60-year-old Indians stood at 18.02 years. Thus, you will need renewable health coverage after retirement, even in your 70s, to access quality healthcare whenever you need it.

Diseases and treatment procedures covered

The risk of contracting infections, injury, or critical illnesses increases at an advanced age. But some treatment procedures like chemotherapy may not need overnight hospital stays. Also, domiciliary treatments at home might be essential when the senior patient is not in a condition to be shifted to a hospital. However, many policies limit the treatment procedures covered.

Therefore, you should seek coverage for complicated diseases needing long-term, expensive treatments. A senior citizen health insurance scheme should also reimburse daycare and domiciliary treatment costs.

Hospital network

Mediclaim policies provide cashless treatments only on admission to a hospital having tie-ups with your insurer. Hence, you will need to look for hospitals under your insurer’s network to overcome any shortage of funds without your salary in an emergency. Therefore, a vast network is crucial.

Copayments and sub-limits

Copayment clauses require you to bear a part of the medical bill yourself. Sub-limits cap the amount you can claim for specific illnesses or procedures, regardless of the total sum insured. Look for minimal copayments and sub-limits to reduce out-of-pocket spending.

The need for a health insurance plan

If you consider such parameters, critical illness insurance is the ideal health insurance solution for senior citizens. Kotak Life Health Shield critical illness plan covers the most common life-threatening ailments:

1. Cancer

2. Heart attack

3. Nerve diseases

4. Liver damage

Senior citizen Mediclaim policy

Entry Age and Eligibility

• If the proposer is a senior citizen, they may be eligible for an individual policy.
• Self-only was 60 to 80 years old when it first started.
• Self and Spouse were both between the ages of 60 and 80 when they were born.
• If the proposer is an elderly person, a policy on a floating basis may be obtained.
• Both the self and the spouse are present, with the self-being between the ages of 60 and 80 and the spouse being between the ages of 50 and 80. ages 18 to 65

Lines of treatment covered

• Allopathy, Ayurveda, and homoeopathy room rent/ICU costs, medical professionals’ fees (including anesthesiologists’ fees), consultants’ fees, and other expenditures as specified in the policy’s restrictions.
• Funeral costs, ambulance fees, and organ donor costs are all paid to the extent specified and in accordance with the selected plan.
• HIV & Mental illness cover Pre and Post Hospitalization for the same sickness, illness, or injury for up to 30 days and 60 days, respectively.
• 12 The policy currently covers contemporary treatments, including robotic surgery, oral chemotherapies, immunotherapies, and others.
• After a certain amount of time has passed, treatment for morbid obesity is now covered. (For complete information, see the policy)
• After a set amount of waiting time, correction of refractive defects above -7.5 D is now covered.
• Treatment associated with amateur participation in risky or adventurous sports is restricted.
• Now covered are hospital expenses, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and genetic abnormalities.
• Only through TPA is a cashless facility available at Network Hospitals.
• Pre-negotiated package prices for particular operations or procedures at participating hospitals.
• Long-Term Renewability
• According to IRDAI rules, portability (migration) is permitted from/to related products.

The benefits of health insurance plan include the following:

• Coverage for multiple ailments under the same policy
• Option to have your spouse under the plan to safeguard their health against age-related ailments
• Age of entry up to 65 years, allowing you to buy the coverage as a senior citizen
• Maturity age up to 75 years, keeping your health coverage in force even in your advanced age
• Lump-sum payouts upfront on the diagnosis of the health problems covered, removing burdens of copayments and sub-limits
• Payouts without the need to submit hospital bills, allowing you to seek any treatment procedure anywhere you choose
• Sum insured amounts to ₹1 crore, letting you stay financially prepared for any health-related emergency.
• Provision to add an extra monetary benefit of up to ₹50 lakhs for permanent disabilities due to an accident or unfortunate demise
• Option for add-on daily hospital cash benefits to cover unforeseen expenses during a hospital stay
• Flexible premium payments in monthly instalments to suit pensioners’ limited budgets.

Health Insurance Premium Calculator

A health insurance premium calculator is a free tool for figuring out the costs of different health insurance plans for senior citizens, as well as comparing and examining various medical insurance policies offered by well-known insurance providers online. You may contrast many aspects of health insurance policies, such as age, gender, occupation, the number of people covered by a policy, and others. A modification in the health insurance premium is also possible after customising one’s health insurance plans for senior citizens policies. Making a better purchasing selection is made possible with the use of a health insurance premium calculator.

Conclusion

Do not settle for limited coverage to get lower premium rates. Without sufficient financial cover, inflation can affect your retirement savings. Hence, look for a high sum insured and a wide range of benefits to prepare for medical uncertainties.

Fast and efficient claim settlement is also essential to ensure prompt access to funds when needed. Kotak Life’s claim settlement ratio of 97.40% for the financial Year 2018-19 indicates the company’s disbursal efficiency. Thus, you can rely on Kotak Health Shield for your age-related health insurance plans for senior citizens.