Health insurance: Tips for buying health plans for senior citizens

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Look for medical insurance with the shortest waiting period and therefore a minimum number of diseases under this era. By A P Singh & Sunil Kadyan .There are two varieties of insurance policies available for senior citizens.

First, comprehensive plans with an entry age of up to 65 years, which is dearer but gives wider coverage. Here are some important factors which you ought to consider while buying medical insurance for senior citizens.

Entry and renewal age
Most insurers offer insurance plans with an entry age of 60-80 years haven’t any entry age for these plans. Come with those plans where no entry age restrictions are there.

Waiting period
A waiting period in an exceeding health plan applies to specific diseases. It always lasts up to 2 to four years. Hunt for medical insurance with the smallest amount of waiting duration and fewer number of diseases under the waiting period.

Co-payment
A co-payment clause implies that a percentage of the hospital expenses is borne by the soul whenever a claim comes. The co-pay is pre-decided at the time of shopping for the policy, which may well be 20-50% of the quantity of the approved claim. Opt for purchasing those plans that don’t have any co-payment or least co-payment.

Deductibles
The deductible is that the amount you pay yourself before the policy begins to pay benefits. To scale back the premium, one can go for deductibles rather than co-pay. Deductibles are better than co-pay since the previous while co-payment may be a percentage of the whole claim.

Exclusions
Many medical insurance policies for senior citizens include the exclusion of medical conditions or healthcare expenses that don’t seem to be covered by your health plan. Read the fine print of the policy to grasp which diseases are excluded from the policy. Choose the policy which has no or the minimum number of exclusions.

Limit/sub-limits
A sub-limit could be a cap on what proportion a policyholder can claim for a selected expense/procedure. Several old person mediclaim policies include sub-limits. Check what the procedures/treatments that have sub-limits are. Compare premium amount versus the advantages offered.

Restoration benefit
With senior citizens, there are chances of multiple hospitalizations in a very year. The restoration feature reinstates the whole sum insured just in case it gets exhausted during a policy year. For instance, if you have got exhausted the bottom sum insured of `5 lakh within the first claim, you’ll still be eligible for `5 lakh within the second claim within the same year.

Medical check-ups
With some insurers, medical check-ups are mandatory. The underwriters decide whether medical tests are needed to support these declarations. The value of such medical examinations might not be fully borne by insurers.

Limitations on pre and post-hospitalization expenses
This is the reimbursement of any expenses incurred by the policyholder before hospitalization and after being discharged from the hospital.

Number of day-care claims
Some day-care claims Some procedures can be completed in less than 24 hours at a hospital and require no hospitalization.

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