No matter how healthy you eat and how healthy your lifestyle is, you will need hospitalization for some medical condition when you grow older. Luckily, there are a lot of excellent healthcare services nowadays. But, in the case of elective surgery or costly treatment, you might end up waiting for months and years. Health insurance for seniors not only eases the pressure of medicare at the present moment but acts as a backup for upcoming decades too. Private health insurance covers a significant share of your treatment cost and provides other benefits like choosing various healthcare providers and skipping public hospital waiting list.
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A Comprehensive Level of Cover
A senior may have various needs for health insurance. But it becomes challenging to choose what you need your insurance to cover. Therefore, you can choose a comprehensive level of healthcare cover that covers all common health conditions that can affect a senior. But, you should always read carefully through the papers to make sure no condition or treatment is excluded or restricted. It is better to have a family member alongside you to help you understand what the insurance policy covers. Also, there is no point of paying for a health condition that is not needed.
No Public Waiting Lists
You might have to wait for more than six months for a knee replacement surgery! If you are in severe pain and cannot move around, waiting for such a long time might be a challenging thing to do. Health insurance solves this problem, and you don’t have to wait for months for a surgery or any other elective treatment. You can skip the waiting list, get your treatment done, and enjoy your retirement.
Doctor or Surgeon of Your Choice
With health insurance, you have more choices of healthcare providers to choose from. If you have a preferred surgeon or doctor, you want to choose for your treatment, and health insurance gives you the luxury to do so. However, you should check if the healthcare providers of your choice are covered in your healthcare insurance. If your health insurance does not include the provider of your choice, you will have to pay for the treatment from your pocket.
Preventative Therapies
As a senior, you need preventative therapies as much as you need treatments and surgeries to stay fit and healthy. These preventative therapies include:
* Osteopathy
* Chiropractic
* Remedial massage
* Naturopathy
* Acupuncture
Many more preventative therapies are included in the insurance. In fact, people over the age of 55 use their age cover more than any other age group. Average benefit a person gets from the cover is more than $600.
Various Cover Options
With so many private health insurance companies, seniors have a lot of good choices to choose from. Some online websites function as comparison tools to make sure you get the best deal. Make sure you check the comparison carefully and make out what is included and what is not. An insurance policy is beneficial only if it covers what you need.
Other Benefits
Health insurance for seniors offers a lot more benefits. These benefits are listed below.
* Claim Settlements are free from hassle and bustle
* Get annual health checkups
* Tax benefits can be availed on higher insurance premium
* Daily care costs that arse due to treatments like dialysis, chemotherapy, etc. are also covered
* Pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization costs are covered
* Pre-existent diseases are covered after a certain waiting period
* Enjoy benefits of higher sum insured benefits
* Cashless hospitalization if the patient gets admitted for more than a day
* Covered ambulance expenses
What is Not Covered?
There are a few things that are not covered in senior citizen health insurance. These things are listed below.
* Already existing injuries or diseases if the waiting period is not completed
* Cosmetic Injuries
* Cover for HIV or AIDS
* Cost of spectacles or lenses
* Dental Treatment
* Cover for injuries caused by oneself
* Cover for problems related to drug abuse
What to Consider?
There are a few things you should consider while buying senior citizen health insurance. Firstly, you should know your medical history. Sometimes, an aged person is not aware of various health problems he or she suffers from. Therefore, before opting for health insurance, make sure to cross-check your health conditions and health problems. Secondly, never go for the first plan you come across. There are a lot of medical insurance plans available, and thus, it is essential to compare the plans and choose the one that best suits you. Comparison factors include price, add-ons/riders, coverage,etc.
While choosing the policy and filling up the application form, make sure you fill relevant and accurate information. Filling up incorrect and misleading information can create problems, and your application might get rejected. The policyholder will have to go for a medical checkup after submitting the application form. The insurance company will verify the information that you have mentioned in the form. In addition, some tests like kidney & liver function, urine routine, and blood routine will be checked by the insurance company itself.
Factors to Compare
There are a lot of factors on which an insurance policy can be compared. You can consider the factors relevant to you and choose the plan that best suits you. Factors that can be used to compare senior citizen health insurance policies are:
* Age of the policyholder
* Total sum insured by the company
* Network of hospitals
* Duration of the waiting period
* Illnesses for which the cover is provided
* Exclusions and inclusions
* Number of people that are insured in the policy
* Premiums
Conclusion
Many elderly people worry about getting injured, falling ill, and not having money for treatment. Senior citizen health insurance reassures you and your family that you will receive the treatment you need without waiting. Depending on the level of cover offered by insurance policy, the insurer can pay for all or almost all of your treatment costs. Therefore, you can avoid the burden of paying hefty medical bills. With all these benefits, comfort, and peace of mind, a senior citizen health insurance is worth considering.
