When we talk of a health insurance plane, you may think it does not apply to you. But, nobody plans to get sick or have an accident. You may need medical care at some point in time, and this is where a medical health cover comes in handy. A health insurance policy guarantees you essential health benefits crucial to maintaining your good health plus treating accidents and other illnesses. It protects you from paying unexpected high medical expenses, gives access to free preventive care such as vaccines, screening, and checkups. Coming up with the right health insurance policy can be confusing, given the high number of companies offering the same services. But do not worry because here is the guide to choosing the best insurance company, such as myprivatehealthinsurance.com for your health insurance cover.
Inpatient and Outpatient Cover
Medical covers fall into two categories; inpatient and outpatient services. Outpatient refers to the services offered to patients who do not require hospitalization or, in other words, the patients who do not require admission. On the other hand, Inpatient services are offered to patients who require hospitalization. Outpatient coverages take care of treatment and the drugs while the inpatient takes care of hospitalization costs such as bed, room, lodge expenses, and medical costs. Some policies do not cover both. Some only cover the outpatient expenses while others are covering inpatient expenses. Therefore, you can check here for more information about both Inpatient and Outpatient coverages.
Cover Limit
All insurance policies have a cover limit. For health insurance, they have a cover limit for inpatient and outpatient. The outpatient coverage limit is the maximum amount an insurance company is willing to pay when the insurer seeks outpatient services. Similarly inpatient limit is the maximum amount the insurance is willing to pay when the insurer seeks inpatient services. Both cover limits run for one year. Most covers have independent limits for dental and optic. When choosing coverage, you need to consider the limits offered for each category. Pick a cover that provides the highest limits at affordable premiums.
Product Features
In assessing the product features, you should check for annual illness and rehabilitation cover.
- Annual cover – This refers to the amount an insurance company is willing to pay for the medical expenses of the insurer for the entire year. It may include the outpatient, inpatient, optic, dental cover, and other medical checkups. This is the first thing that an insurance agent presents to you.
- Illness cover – This policy covers all the sicknesses resulting from diseases causing pathogens. This includes conditions caused by bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. It also covers other ailments classified as nerve issues, gastrointestinal problems, and respiratory issues. It takes care of the doctor’s fee, cost of medicine, laboratory tests, medical procedures such as surgery, imaging, and physiotherapy. Note! Illnesses do not constitute any cosmetic procedures, not unless medically prescribed. The list of exclusion is usually huge. Therefore, it is important to be in the picture of what exists and what is excluded from your cover.
- Rehabilitation cover – Some covers provide for rehabilitation costs. This is mostly offered in the event there is a traumatic accident. Such a policy covers all the rehabilitation expenses incurred for the period of treatment. Note! The rehabilitation coverage has a limit, and once the limit is exhausted, the patient is expected to raise the extra expense.
Hospital Panels
It doesn’t matter how attractive a cover looks. What matters most is the services you get out of that coverage. So, it is crucial that you get to know the hospitals in the panel. It’s only wise that you take a policy that has reputable hospitals in their panel.
Last Expense
Some insurance companies include a feature called “last expense “in their policy. It’s unfortunate that some patients may never recover even after getting the best health care. In the event that the policyholder dies, the insurance company offers a benefit called” last expense “to the believed family. This benefit is meant to assist the family in burial preparations. The help could be beneficial to the family, mostly if there was a substantial medical bill.
Chronic Conditions
Some years ago, insurance companies were not covering chronic illnesses. It was assumed that chronic disease was an assured expense, and insurance companies work on events that are unlikely to happen. But, nowadays, due to competition in the industry, insurance companies are insuring chronic illnesses. They argue that among all their clients, only a few people will suffer from chronic diseases. Before deciding on an insurance company to buy coverage from, remember to check if they also cover chronicle conditions.
Congenital Conditions
Congenital condition refers to illnesses that are present from birth. Initially, insurance companies never used to cover such diseases. The reason being, their presence indicated an expected medical expense rather than an unexpected one. As seen above, due to competition, most insurance companies have resorted to covering congenital conditions. When looking for an insurance company, remember to check if they cover congenital conditions.
Maternity Cover
As seen with chronicle illnesses, also maternity costs were not covered by insurance companies in the past. The argument was based on the fact that pregnancy is not a medical condition, and delivery is an assured expense. But nowadays, things have changed. Most medical covers include maternal care. There are those covers that give different limits for normal delivery and caecilians section. It’s therefore important to know your cover specific limits when it comes to delivery. In normal circumstances, the caecilian section has a higher limit than normal delivery.
Conclusion
If you follow the above tips, you can be sure to get an insurance company offering the best package for health policy. However, the insurance industry is dynamic, and these product features keep on changing. Some of these changes are market-driven, others due to government rules and regulations, and other industry-driven. But, whatever the case, always remember to check whether the policy includes the covers mentioned above. This is because these are the most common conditions that you experience in real daily life.Last but not least, remember to sign a policy document once you pay your premium.