Healthcare has never been more important and yet, many still delay purchasing a plan. For them, monthly/ annual premium payments simply can’t be justified. These healthcare plan purchases drain financial resources in the present , which could be diverted towards other more pressing matters, and potential health crises are typically too unlikely a situation to put aside money for in the present.
When you look at healthcare from this perspective, it is easy to see why one would like to keep money in their pocket today because they're optimistic about their health in the future. However, the nature of health emergencies are that they are often unforeseen and sudden, regardless of how healthy your lifestyle is or how careful you are. After all, illnesses and accidents rarely announce themselves before arriving.
This may not have been an issue if access to quality healthcare of all kinds was easily affordable. However, the truth is that, though our knowledge of medicine and healthcare is advancing rapidly, so too is the cost of availing these treatments. Currently, any treatment requiring hospitalization and all the services that come along with, such as medicines, cost at the very least a few lakhs. Combine this with all the consultations and diagnostic tests one may have to go through as well, and you’re looking at a hefty medical bill that could wipe out your hard-earned savings and then some. This is going to only get worse with time, as studies have shown that the per-person cost of medical treatment in India is rising at twice the inflation rate.
Thus those without a healthcare plan are typically reluctant to avail quality healthcare in a timely manner. Faced with the prospect of having to pay for costly treatments, or diagnostic consultations, many delay the same, and turn a blind eye to the medical needs of either themselves or their loved ones. This only makes the illness or injury worse and increases costs even further.
As you can see, the financial risks posed by health emergencies are substantial, and can be protected against by availing an all inclusive healthcare plan So what exactly is a Healthcare plan and how does it help you?
A healthcare plan essentially provides you benefits like medicines, lab tests, and doctor consultation at discounted rates, finances you during hospitalization, gives you online medical facilities and so on. However, just like your network provider, this too is a plan and all these benefits are valid only for the time your plan is active. The benefit of choosing a healthcare plan is that you can choose the plan to your liking. You need not commit for long term, you can take a short test ride and if you like what you see, you can commit for long-term. Alternatively, if you want, you can continue to avail the plans for short-term as and when you need. So, basically, you need not pay for the entire year, you can just pay before you think the flu season is about to begin and you are going to need medical facilities. However, if you're bad a predicting when the flu season will be or if you need medical facilities round the year, you may invest in a long-term plan as mentioned.
There are numerous healthcare plans out there and you can choose from them depending on your need. You can opt for a lower value plan that offers a limited benefits or you can take a higher value plan that offers a plethora of benefits for you and your loved ones. There are even tailor-made plans if you want to target a specific disease. You could choose a plan based on your age, the number of people included in the plan, or the benefits. However, we advise you to read through all the terms and conditions before you avail a plan. One important thing to consider is when do the benefits kick in; for example, all the benefits kick in the minute you buy a Kenko Healthcare plan.
Delaying the purchase of a healthcare plans can put you and your loved ones at risk. Let's look at a few of them:
Rising Cost of Healthcare plans
With the outbreak of pandemics in the last decade that has put the fear of god in us, healthcare prices are set to rise. Additionally, they healthcare prices are also affected by inflation and in India, the rate of medical inflation can sometimes be higher than that of the inflation. You could even face a price change if you're availing a health-care plan for short-term. For example, say you avail a 12 month plan at Rs. 599. Thus, if you pay the entire payment in one go, then it would mean that at the end of the year you are bound to pay only Rs. 7188. However, if you're paying for this plan every month, then the price you pay at the end of the month differ depending on the price change of the plan. Finally, you also risk price change of your healthcare plan if your health score changes.
Risk of Large-one time expenses
As mentioned above, treatment costs are rising rapidly, something which has only been bolstered further by the COVID outbreak. By not having a healthcare plan backing you up, you risk facing a large medical expense that could drain you of your resources and may even require you to sell off some assets or take out a loan. Placing yourself in such a position can have serious long-term impacts on you and your family’s future and could possibly lead to even more medical expenses down the road due to stress and lower quality of life.
You may even run the risk of not being able to afford treatment immediately. This can have serious impacts on your health and on the health of your loved ones.
Conclusion
Getting a healthcare plan is an essential part of financial planning. Healthcare plans help you mitigate the financial burdens caused by illnesses and accidents and prevent them from crippling you. However, numerous healthcare plans are accompanied with countless terms and conditions and often don’t provide as many benefits as they initially promised.
Kenko Health's 599/month and 299/month plans provide excellent coverage, without subjecting you to high premiums. All payments are made in the form of monthly subscription fees which remain static and can be cancelled at any time. The plans go beyond simple hospitalization cover, and provide access to consultations, prescription medicines and diagnostic tests at steep discounts and will soon be expanded to cover specialist treatments such as dental care, vision care and mental health treatments.
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