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Apart from all the emotional suffering, an out-of-the-blue medical emergency can dig a deep hole into your lifetime savings. This is precisely why you must invest in a good health insurance policy so that you get sufficient financial aid during any kind of emergency.
While a health insurance policy provides you with coverage against hospitalization costs, you might still be required to pay for it from your own pocket before raising a claim. This may not be the most ideal situation for people with no extra savings to shell out.
This is where cashless hospitalization acts as a saviour.
If you face a medical emergency or meet with an accident, you are likely to be hospitalized for a while. In-patient hospitalization is expensive. If you do not have emergency funds, cashless hospitalization is the best option available. Under a cashless facility, the insurer directly settles the bill with the network hospital rather than you having to pay the expenses first and then getting the same reimbursed. Therefore, always buy a health plan which comes with a cashless facility.
Cashless health insurance policies are designed with the sole intention of providing the much-needed financial relief to the policyholder at the crucial time of hospitalization. It is an arrangement of the insurance companies and their network hospitals, where the claims are settled without involving the insured. Under this arrangement, Third Party Administrator (TPS) acts as a bridge between the hospitals and the insurance company in settling the claims. In most cases, these TPAs set up a desk at the network hospital to facilitate smooth processing of such claim requests.
The salient features of cashless health insurance policies are decided by insurance companies and, therefore, vary between insurers and insurance policies. However, some of the standard features that are included in most cashless health insurance plans are:
Provides a robust corpus for medical emergencies: Medical emergencies, whether unforeseen or not, burn a hole in our pocket when we don’t financially plan for them in advance. Cashless claims are even more beneficial as it saves critical time that a patient’s family requires to arrange for hospital expenses. Instead, they can get the necessary treatments started simply by showing their cashless health insurance policy card to the relevant hospital authorities.
A source of relief: A cashless health insurance policy gives you the assurance that finance would not be a concern for you, in case the need arises. You can get admission to hospitals and start the necessary treatment without any delay through a hassle free cashless claim. You can solely focus on the treatment and recovery without finance being a cause for worry.
Extensive range of coverages: Cashless health insurance policies generally include comprehensive coverages like pre and post hospitalization expenses, ambulance expenses, inpatient care, domiciliary treatment, etc. Certain cashless health insurance plans also offer health check-ups and diagnostic tests at regular intervals.
Safeguards your health during travels: The uncertainties of a new location often prevent you from accessing the right treatment, in case a medical emergency arises while you are traveling. Being the holder of a cashless health insurance assures you of reliable medical services at a network hospital, and that too, without the hassle of arranging for hospitalization and medical expenses.
Tax benefits: Premium payments made towards cashless health insurance policies are eligible for tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961, up to Rs.25,000 for individuals below 60 years of age and up to Rs.50,000 for senior citizens.
Cashless Individual Health Insurance – Cashless Individual Health Insurance policies offer cashless claims to individuals, that is the policyholder, against hospital expenses and other benefits, as per the terms and conditions of the policy.
Cashless Family Health Insurance – In a Cashless Family Health Insurance plan, one can get all the members of his/her family covered by the same family health plan. The individuals in the policyholder’s family that is covered by such a cashless health insurance plan is known as ‘members’.
Cashless Health Insurance for Senior Citizen – As the name suggests, this cashless health insurance plan offers covers that are especially designed for senior citizens. It covers ambulance costs, hospitalization expenditures, pre-existing diseases as specified by the policy document, etc.
Apollo Munich Optima Restore Health Insurance is often considered to be the most effective and efficient cashless health insurance policy.
| Features | |
| Benefits | |
| Eligibility | Entry Age - 5 years onwards with maximum entry age of 65 years, dependent children can be covered from the 91st day. A maximum of 6 members can be added to a single plan. |
| Survival Period | NA |
| Coverage | |
| Exclusion | |
| Sum Insured | Rs. 3 Lakhs minimum |
| Waiting Period | 3 years for pre-existing diseases |
ICICI Lombard Health Care Plus occupies the second place among health insurance companies in India that offer cashless facilities throughout their network hospitals.
| Features | |
| Benefits | |
| Eligibility | The age of entry for policyholders is 5 years to 65 years |
| Survival Period | NA |
| Coverage | |
| Exclusion | |
| Sum Insured | NA |
| Waiting Period | Pre-existing diseases are covered after 4 years of continuous coverage. medical expenses incurred during the first 30 days of inception of the policy, except those arising out of accidents |
Religare Health Care is another cashless health policy that provides comprehensive coverage to the policyholders.
| Features | |
| Benefits | |
| Eligibility | |
| Survival Period | NA |
| Coverage | |
| Exclusion | |
| Sum Insured | Rs. 3 lakhs to Rs. 6 Crores |
| Waiting Period | Pre-existing diseases are covered after 4 years of continuous coverage. Medical expenses incurred during the first 30 days of inception of the policy, except those arising out of accidents |
Max Bupa Health Insurance policy appears next in line for the top rated health insurance policies in India.
| Features | |
| Benefits | |
| Eligibility | The entry age for adults under this policy can be from 18 to 65 years. The entry age for dependent children is from 91 days to 30 years in a family floater policy |
| Survival Period | NA |
| Coverage | |
| Exclusion | |
| Sum Insured | Rs. 5 lakhs |
| Waiting Period | Pre-existing disease waiting period of 24 months since inception of the policy and continuous renewal |
Another effective cashless health insurance policy is the Bajaj Allianz Health Insurance Family Floater plan that offers individual as well as family floater health insurance.
| Features | |
| Benefits | |
| Eligibility | |
| Survival Period | NA |
| Coverage | |
| Exclusion | |
| Sum Insured | |
| Waiting Period | Pre-existing disease waiting period of 24 months since inception of the policy and continuous renewal |
The following are the leading health insurance companies in India, along with the salient features and benefits that they offer on their cashless health insurance policies:
Health insurance companies collaborate with hospitals across locations in India to prepare a list of network hospitals. Policyholders of cashless health insurance plans, on getting hospitalized at any of these network hospitals for any medical treatment, would be eligible for availing cashless claims whenever the need arises. The medical expenses incurred up to the applicable sum insured will be paid by the relevant health insurance company directly to the hospital.
Planned hospitalization implies that you are aware that you will be hospitalization in a few days and, therefore, you have some time on your hands to make certain arrangements. Here’s what you should do before a planned hospitalization with a cashless health insurance policy:
Go through the cashless health insurance policy document or call the customer care number of your insurance company to become aware of the list of network hospitals.
After you have decided on the network hospital where you would like to be treated, you need to fill up a pre-authorization form. You can get this form from the insurance desk at your chosen hospital or download it from the TPA website. The first section of the form has to be filled up by you, while the second half is meant for the attending physician.
Complete the form with accurate details. Ensure that there is no suppression or misrepresentation of information. After submission, the hospital authorities will evaluate the authenticity of the details provided in the form.
This form is then faxed to the TPA, which will either approve or reject it.
If your application is approved, the TPA will send the authorization letter back to your chosen hospital, along with details about the sanctioned amount that they will provide for your medical treatment.
When you require emergency medical treatment, you have to initiate the cashless health insurance facility within 24 hours of hospitalization.
Show the cashless health insurance card to the relevant hospital authorities at the time of hospitalization. This card comprises of the name of your insurance company, your policy number and the type of health insurance plan that you have opted for.
Fill up and submit the pre-authorization form, available at the insurance desk, after which the claim settlement process will be expedited. Under emergency medical situations, it is mandatory for the TPA to process claims within 6 hours of it being initiated by the cashless health insurance policyholder or his/her family. However, if you prefer not to wait for the approval for TPA, you can pay your hospital bills, and later initiate the claim settlement process to get your reimbursements.
Here are the features that you should check for while deciding on a robust cashless health insurance plan:
Sum insured – The sum insured that will be suitable for you depends on the city that you belong to. While for a small city, a sum insured of between Rs.3 lakhs and Rs.5 lakhs is believed to be a good amount, a sum of at least Rs.5 lakhs will be essential for metro cities.
Claim settlement ratio: Claim settlement ratio of health insurance companies is one of the most essential factors that you should check before taking a final decision. The higher the ratio, the greater are your chances of a quick and hassle free claim settlement process.
Network hospitals: Cashless health insurance can be claimed only at network hospitals of a health insurance company. Assess the list of network hospitals and check whether they include ones in and around your locality and/or the ones that you usually visit. Also, ensure that you will be able to avail cashless claims across locations in India.
Pre and Post Hospitalization: There are certain medical expenditures that are incurred before and after hospitalization. These include medical check-ups and follow-ups, diagnostic tests, recovery treatments, etc. Only expenditures related to the treatment for which the individual had to be hospitalized is considered.
Co-payment: Co-payment implies the pre-determined percentage of the claim amount that you have to bear, while the rest will be borne by the insurance company. This is a common clause of group and individual/family health insurance policies of most insurance companies.
No Claim Bonus: Several insurance companies offer a No Claim Bonus when the cashless health insurance policyholder has not made a claim. In such an event, either the premium is reduced or the sum insured is increased or both.
Day care coverage: Traditional health insurance policies make it mandatory for individuals to be hospitalized for at least 24 hours to be eligible for this coverage. However, due to advancement in medical technology there are many treatments which do not require 24 hr hospitalization and are covered under the head of Day Care Treatment. Cashless health insurance from most insurance companies include this benefit. Make sure that your cashless health insurance policy includes this feature.
Maternity Benefits: Check for the waiting period for claiming maternity expenses. This will keep women covered against maternity expenses, enabling them to tide over the inflationary effects on such expenditures.
Free medical check-up: It is best to opt for a cashless health insurance policy that offers free medical check-ups and diagnostic tests to make the maximum of cashless health insurance policy.
Lifetime Renewal: This feature in a cashless health insurance policy eliminates the hassle of renewing it annually. The fact that it covers individuals across ages proves to be beneficial for you, especially if you have elderly dependent parents in your family.
For the treatment of a pre-existing disease
Every insurance company has a tie-up with certain hospitals that forms a part of their Preferred Provider Network or PPN. When you plan to get treated in such hospitals, you can avail the cashless claim settlement facility. To avail it, you need to do the following:
For an unexpected event like an accident or a critical illness
In an unforeseen situation like an accident or a critical illness, if hospitalization is required, then the policyholder or his/ her family members should follow the following procedure:
While your health insurance policy tackles any financial blows resulting out of hospitalization, there are certain items that are not claimable in spite of being a part of your medical expense. Some of them are mentioned below:
Also Read: Do's and Don'ts a Policyholder Must Know While Buying Cashless Health Insurance
