With age, we become more prone to sickness and accidents. Timely access to essential medical treatment can help shape the future life of an individual. Hence, we want to provide the best healthcare services to our parents or grandparents. Buying robust healthcare coverage is an equitable way to do it.
In this article, we will discuss the best health insurance plans available for senior citizens in India. If you want to buy health insurance for your elderly parents, this could be a valuable read for you.
Looking for health insurance for your elderly parents? Your choices might be limited, rendering your health insurance purchase journey difficult. We are here to help you.
Book a call with us to discuss your parents’ health insurance requirements with our expert advisors.
Need of Health Insurance
Medical emergencies, like a sickness or an accident, make access to quality healthcare services essential. It is more pertinent in the case of senior citizens as they are more prone to falling sick.
However, medical treatments are expensive, and many cannot afford them. Even for those who can, a medical emergency can burn their pockets or leave the family in debt. So, having a comprehensive health insurance cover is a better way to cover the financial burden associated with expensive medical treatments.
Health Insurance Benefits for Senior Citizens
[1] Timely Access to Healthcare Services
In the absence of health insurance coverage, you might delay certain medical treatments for the want of adequate funds. This delay could make life difficult as you live with a health issue or further complicate the problem. Comprehensive health insurance coverage solves the money problem associated with expensive medical treatments, ensuring you get the treatment on time.
[2] Access to Quality Healthcare Services
Also, you do not have to compromise on the quality of treatment to receive. Go to the best hospital empaneled with your health insurer in your city to take any covered treatment.
[3] Protection of Retirement Corpus
Elderly people have limited retirement corpus with no future earnings. Wise spending can highly impact the course of future life. Robust financial planning with a health insurance plan to support expensive medical treatments, can make the retirement corpus last longer.
Health Insurance Challenges
[1] Pre-Existing Illnesses and Comorbidities
Elderly people are likely to have pre-existing health issues due to age. Severe or multiple health issues reduce the chances of securing comprehensive health insurance coverage.
Health insurers usually provide restricted coverage to people with multiple health issues or apply loadings to cover the extra risk. They even deny health coverage to people with severe health issues.
[2] Plans with Restricted Benefits
Securing a comprehensive health cover for someone having multiple age-related or other health issues is tough. To mitigate extra risks associated with old age or pre-existing diseases, health insurance companies design health insurance plans with many restrictions. These include copayments, disease-wise sub-limits, room restrictions etc.
Such health insurance plans are obviously not desirable. Unfortunately, for some people, these are the best they can get.
[3] Affordability
Health insurance becomes expensive with age. For senior or super senior citizens, the cost of buying health insurance could be a challenge. Any loading or restrictions applied by the insurer due to age or pre-existing health conditions could make it even worse.
Good financial planning coupled with buying health insurance at a young age could solve a lot of these issues.
Key Health Insurance Considerations for Senior Citizens
[1] Avoid Copayments
A copayment clause in your health insurance policy implies that you have to pay a fixed percentage of every claim you make out of your pocket. It’s a strict no-no. However, some insurers impose copayments when senior citizens buy a new health insurance policy. Avoid such plans as much as possible and look for better deals.
[2] Say No to Room Rent Restrictions
Don’t compromise on the type of room you get access to under your policy. Look for a policy with no room rent restrictions. Otherwise, a single private AC room is the basic minimum you should ask for.
[3] Look for Plans with No Disease Wise Sub-Limit
Plans with disease-wise sub-limits might restrict your access to quality treatment for an illness. Opt for a comprehensive health insurance plan with no such restrictions.
[4] Get Unlimited Restorations
Some illnesses are likely to recur or require treatments multiple times in a year. It might be more common among elderly people with comorbidities. Hence, unlimited restorations can be a useful feature for senior citizens. Look for health insurance plans that offer restorations for the same illness and same person without any gap.
[5] Opt for Annual Health Checkups
Keeping a tab on overall health conditions and early intervention in case of an illness is necessary to avoid serious health implications among senior citizens. Having an annual health checkup is a great way to do the same. What could be better than your health insurance plan offering a complimentary annual health checkup?
Top 3 Plans for Senior Citizens
If you want to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage to your elderly parents, here are the top 3 plans for you.
Health Insurance Plan | Entry Age Limit for Adults (Years) | Coverage | Special Inbuilt Features | Waiting Periods | Insurer’s Metrics |
HDFC Ergo Optima Secure | 18 – No Limit | All bases covered, No room rent restrictions, No disease-wise restrictions | 2X cover from day 1, Consumable benefit | PEDs: 3 years,
Specific Illnesses: 2 years |
CSR for FY 24: 97.94%
ICR for FY24: 87.70% Complaint Volume: 6.89 |
Care Supreme | 18 – 99 | All bases covered, No room rent restrictions, No disease-wise restrictions | Unlimited automatic recharge
Addon: 500% Super No Claim Bonus |
PEDs: 3 years,
Specific Illnesses: 2 years Addon: Instant cover on diabetes, hypertension, asthma and hyperlipidemia |
CSR for FY 24: 92.61%
ICR for FY24: 58% Complaint Volume: 39 |
Niva Bupa Reassure 2.0 | 18 – 99 | All bases covered, No room rent restrictions, No disease-wise restrictions | Lock the Clock:Premium gets locked as per age at entry till you make the first claim.
Booster: Unutilised sum insured gets carried forward up to 10X. |
PEDs: 3 years,
Specific Illnesses: 2 years Addon: Instant cover on diabetes and hypertension |
CSR for FY 24: 91.93%
ICR for FY24: 59% Complaint Volume: 38.76 |
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