The evolving landscape of family dynamics underscores the critical need for robust health insurance for parents. With increased global mobility and a desire for independent living among seniors, traditional caregiving structures are shifting. This transformation necessitates a proactive approach to ensuring our parents' well-being, particularly as they navigate the challenges of aging.
Coverage: A safety net for senior health
Comprehensive health insurance for parents acts as a vital safety net, covering a range of medical expenses that become increasingly prevalent with age. Effective coverage should encompass:`
- Hospitalization: Including room charges, surgical procedures, and intensive care.
- Pre- and post-hospitalization care: Covering consultations, diagnostics, and follow-up treatments.
- Daycare procedures: For treatments that don't require overnight hospitalization.
- Pre-existing conditions: Policies that accommodate pre-existing conditions are crucial, as many seniors have chronic ailments.
- Ambulance services: Ensuring prompt transportation during medical emergencies.
- Home healthcare: As seniors increasingly prefer to age in place, coverage for home nursing and physiotherapy is essential.
- Preventive checkups: Regular health screenings can detect and manage potential issues early.
As we adapt to the changes in our lifestyle, our ability to take care of our elderly parents may become compromised. However, it is possible to ensure their financial security by purchasing a parents health insurance plan. The best health insurance plans for parents can provide them with financial coverage during unforeseen medical emergencies. As seniors are more susceptible to illnesses and require increased medical attention with age, it is advisable to prioritise their wellbeing and buy a health insurance plan for them in advance. By exhibiting foresight and securing a suitable health insurance policy, we can safeguard the financial future of our aging parents.
What is parents health insurance?
Health insurance plans for parents offer comprehensive coverage towards all kinds of medical expenses that may incur. These specially designed health plans offer coverages against illnesses or health issues that may arise due to ageing. Parents’ health insurance policies may come at a higher premium because these health policies give a higher sum insured for aged individuals. You also get benefits like free annual health check-ups, cashless treatment facility, and more. Most health insurance plans for parents cover pre-existing diseases, which usually do not get covered in regular health plans.
For choosing the best health insurance for parents, you must know the various features and benefits offered in the policies. Every mediclaim policy for parents has different terms and conditions. Therefore, you must carefully read through the policy document to benefit most from the plan.
Why should you purchase a health insurance policy for your parents?
Purchasing a health insurance policy for your parents is a prudent decision to ensure their financial and medical well-being during their golden years. As they grow older, they may face health challenges and financial constraints that can be mitigated with a robust health insurance plan. Below are the key reasons why this investment is vital:
More prone to age-related health complications: As individuals age, they become more vulnerable to chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. A comprehensive health insurance policy ensures timely diagnosis, routine health check-ups, and appropriate medical interventions, safeguarding their overall health.
Rising healthcare costs: The cost of medical treatment is increasing rapidly, with advanced procedures and hospitalisation becoming significantly expensive. Health insurance provides financial cushioning, covering hospitalisation charges, doctor fees, and diagnostic expenses, thus reducing the financial strain on your family.
Increasing lifestyle diseases: Modern lifestyles, even for older adults, can lead to conditions like hypertension, obesity, and sleep disorders. Health insurance covers the cost of treating these ailments, ensuring access to necessary medical care without worrying about the associated expenses.
No compromise on quality of treatment: Health insurance ensures your parents can access quality medical facilities, advanced treatments, and specialists without financial concerns. This allows them to receive the best care possible, regardless of the cost, for a healthier and more comfortable life.
Safeguard your parents' retirement funds: Retirement funds are often limited and meant for fulfilling life aspirations. Unexpected medical expenses can deplete these savings. A health insurance policy helps protect their financial independence, allowing them to enjoy a stress-free retirement.
Cashless hospitalisation facilities: Most health insurance policies offer cashless hospitalisation services, eliminating the need to arrange upfront payments during emergencies. This feature enables hassle-free treatment in network hospitals, providing peace of mind during critical times.
Tax benefits: Purchasing health insurance for your parents offers tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. These benefits reduce your taxable income, making it a financially wise decision while ensuring your parents’ health and security.
Features for health insurance for parents
Here’s a quick look at some of the key features of the best health insurance for parents.
Features |
Specifications |
Sum insured |
Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh |
Pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses |
Covered |
Covered |
|
ICU charges |
Covered |
Tax benefits |
Covered |
Pre-existing diseases |
Covered (according to the plan terms and conditions) |
Daycare procedures |
Covered |
Ambulance Cover |
Covered (depending on plan) |
Key benefits of parents’ health insurance
Below are the key benefits of health insurance for parents:
- With insurance, your parents can get the option of lifelong renewal.
- Get both pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses cover for a stipulated time in the policies. This way you can stay covered both at the time of diagnosis and recovery.
- Most leading insurers have good claim settlement ratios and will close your claims in time without any hassles.
- Parents’ health insurance offers financial protection for hospitalisation, treatments, diagnostic tests, post-hospitalisation care, and more.
- Covers critical illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, and kidney failure, ensuring financial support for specialised and expensive treatments.
- Provides seamless, cashless hospitalisation services at network hospitals, reducing financial stress during medical emergencies or planned healthcare procedures.
- Includes regular preventive health check-ups, aiding in early detection of potential health issues and ensuring timely medical intervention.
- Offers coverage for chronic ailments like diabetes or hypertension after a waiting period, mitigating long-term healthcare expenses effectively.
Parents health insurance: What to expect
- You have two options to get a health insurance plan for parents or senior citizens. You can either add them to your family floater plan or buy specifically designed health plans for senior citizens. The insurer may ask for pre-entrance check-ups before issuing health insurance for parents above 60.
- The premium for the plans could be higher, as you get extensive coverage and the policyholder belongs to a high-risk age group.
- Make sure to check for the waiting periods of specific health conditions, especially those that are historically present in your family tree. Waiting periods could range from 30 days of initial waiting period to almost 4 years for some specific diseases.
- Do check to see if the plan covers an annual health check-up, which will become a huge advantage with age.
- Many parents medical insurance policies cover daycare treatments that do not require hospitalisation for 24 hours. This is crucial to have to cover costs for specific treatments/ procedures like chemotherapy or dialysis.
- A health policy may have a co-payment option, which means the policyholder will have to pay a portion of the claim. This also means that you will have to pay a lower premium.
Types of health insurance plans for parents in India
There are different types of insurance plans for parents in India. Discussed below are a few major types of plans in brief:
- Individual health insurance for parents: Tailored coverage for each parent individually, ensuring personalised protection for their specific healthcare needs.
- Family floater health insurance: Mediclaim policy for parents offers comprehensive coverage for the entire family, including parents, under a single policy, with a shared sum insured for all family members.
- Senior citizen health insurance: Specifically designed for elderly parents, providing coverage for age-related medical expenses and specialised care tailored to their needs.
- Critical illness insurance: Provides a lump-sum benefit upon diagnosis of specified critical illnesses, offering financial support for parents during challenging health situations.
- Top-up health insurance: Supplements existing health insurance coverage for parents by offering additional sum insured beyond a certain threshold, providing additional protection against high medical expenses.
- Super top-up health insurance: Enhances coverage for parents by aggregating medical expenses across multiple hospitalisations within a policy year, offering comprehensive protection at a higher threshold.
What is covered under a parents health insurance policy?
Here’s what is covered by a health insurance plan for parents.
- Medical expenses incurred during hospitalisation, and before and after hospitalisation
- Room rent, ICU charges, and surgery costs. You also get coverage for doctor’s fees, nursing fees, and more.
- Daycare procedures that need less than 24-hour hospitalisation
- Modern treatment methods like robotic surgeries, oral chemotherapy, stem cell therapy, and more
- Traditional treatment therapy like AYUSH
- Treatments taken at home due to unavailability of beds at the hospital or health conditions
Besides these, you can also avail of add-on covers like critical illness, hospital cash cover, and more.
What parents’ health insurance does not cover?
Here’s what is not covered by a health insurance plan for parents.
- Treatments for self-inflicted injuries or attempted suicide
- Injuries suffered in acts of war or terrorism
- Treatment of illness due to substance abuse, alcohol consumption, drugs or any other addictions
How to choose the best health insurance for parents?
Here’s how you can choose the best medical insurance for parents.
- Look for insurance plans that offer comprehensive health insurance and cater to your parents’ medical needs.
- Consider a mediclaim policy for parents that cover critical illnesses, pre-existing diseases, traditional and modern methods of treatment.
- Also, covers treatments that require less than 24 hours hospitalisation (daycare procedures) and the ones taken at home (domiciliary treatments).
- Consider an insurer that has a large network of hospitals. Check for network hospitals that may be near you. You can then benefit from cashless hospitalisation.
- Check the insurer’s claim settlement ratio and if they have a quick claim settlement process.
- Many health insurance plans for parents cover organ donor transplantation, ambulance charges, pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses.
You also get a 100% medical reinstatement benefit if the sum insured gets exhausted in one claim in the policy term. This will help you to stay covered all time.