Wednesday 6 December 2017

What Is The Difference between Health Insurance and Mediclaim?

Most of us tend to use the terms mediclaim and health insurance interchangeably. However, they are not the same. Mediclaim policies in India refer to the hospitalization expenses only whereas a health insurance or a medical insurance plan extends beyond the cost of hospital expenses.

What Is The Difference Between Health Insurance And Mediclaim?

Health insurance plans are widely ignored in India. However, growing cases of lifestyle diseases, rising medical costs, critical illness etc. have made it mandatory to have a health care plan for each and every member of the family in order to secure their future.
On the other hand, mediclaim policies in India have a particularly different scenario. Mediclaim coverage is offered for specific limit only which can engulf the cost of hospitalization, treatment for unfortunate accidents and pre-existing illnesses which were declared initially.

Salient Feature Of Mediclaim Policies In India

Mediclaim policies in India focus on settling the hospital bills incurred as a part of the treatment. The claim process is broadly categorised into a cashless process and regular reimbursement methods. A cashless process ensures that if you choose a hospital that is a partner with the insurer, they become liable to pay the entire cost incurred during the hospitalization. But it is limited to a definite sum only.

Reimbursement plans for mediclaim policies in India, however, require you to produce bills, receipts, documents etc. in order to make you eligible for the claim. The insurer can process the claim only after thoroughly scrutinizing the original documents submitted by the insured.
However, there are a couple of constraints that come along with the mediclaim policies.

1)    Before you choose a mediclaim for family or yourself, it is essential to check the efficacy of the plan. This can be achieved by pitting a single plan that one finds affordable against other available plans.
2)    The mediclaim policy cannot be extended to the family members in case of an unfortunate death of the policyholder. However, individual mediclaim policies in India offer coverage to the insurance holder based on several factors.
3)    Experts usually recommend that the buyer picks specific mediclaim policies in India which offer a renewal policy up to the maximum age. Early purchase of a mediclaim plan can later help you in acquiring benefits in the form of lower waiting periods and in some cases even lower premium amounts.
4)    Most mediclaim plans cover pre-existing diseases only after a certain duration of the policy commencement. Nevertheless, an informed decision in terms of choosing a mediclaim can help you cover the pre-existing diseases as well.

Features of Health Insurance in India

Healthcare plans, on the other hand, are designed effectively to cover an individual in case of any medical emergency. Be it a regular health check-up or a serious and critical illness such as heart attack, cancer, paralysis or even kidney failure, an efficaciously designed healthcare plan can do wonders.
 There are multiple benefits of having a health insurance plan in place. Let’s have a look:

1)    Hospitalization costs are covered for a maximum period of 60 days from the day of admission.
2)    Insured person becomes eligible for a no claim bonus at the end of an annual year in case they have not claimed any insurance.
3)    Section 80D of the Income Tax Act provides tax benefits for a maximum premium value of 25000 INR.
4)    Health care plans do not depend on network hospitals. The insured can produce the policy number during admission, and the insurer becomes liable to pay the entire cost of hospitalization.
5)    Unlike mediclaim policies, a health care plan can cover all members of the family under one single plan.

Popular Health Insurance and Mediclaim Plans in India

Comparing health insurance plans and mediclaim policies is a cake walk nowadays. With facilities available online, users can key in a few factors that suit their parameters to find out the plans that they are comfortable with.

1)    United India Health Insurance Plan
One of the leading healthcare providers in the country, United India Health Insurance plans have various attractive features which make it worthwhile. The most basic features include:
  •          It offers a higher sum of insurance that is capped at ten lakhs
  •          Offers cashless facilities across 7000+ hospitals in India
  •          No claim discount bonuses are applicable for a period of three consequent years.
  •          Comprehensive plan that offers to cover the entire family along with dependent children, hospitalization expenses, etc
  •          The premium paid also attracts tax rebates


2)    National insurance Mediclaim policy
One of the oldest and largest insurance providers, National Insurance Mediclaim policy, is customer-centric. The features include the following:
  •         Hospitalization expenses up to a total of 60 days
  •          Discounts on premium if the insured crosses a claim free year
  •          Ambulance expenses up to 1000 INR
  •        Benefits pertaining to critical illnesses, vaccinations, treatment for infertility, maternity coverage etc.
        For latest Insurance updates folow the PolicyBazaar linkedin Page

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