In today’s world, buying health insurance has become more of a necessity than a choice. There are countless ways in which health insurance policies help us in the long run. Medical coverage helps us to go a long way with all our bills in both health and sickness.
However, with every pro comes a con. Health insurances are different. Especially senior citizens and young people freshly starting with health insurance coverage may face these difficulties. In this article, we will look at some of the major challenges faced by health insurance takers.
6 Major Challenges for Health Insurance Buyers
Every advantageous measure in life comes with a price. Here is a list of 6 major challenges that health insurance buyers have to face on a usual basis.
- Limit on Entry Age for Insurers
Most health insurance companies have an age limit on when insurers can apply for medical and health coverage. The eligibility of customers is a major issue when they apply for health insurance. This becomes a problem for people who have crossed the entry age limit but still require the benefits of health insurance. These people naturally become non-eligible for these health insurance companies and fail to get covered by their policies. People should therefore always check their eligibility for health insurance companies before applying.
- Premium Prices of Policies are Extremely High
Most premium health insurance companies have extremely high health insurance policies. Higher costs in the premium make them less affordable and less accessible to the general public. This is usually seen as a problem among youngsters and old people. As a result, senior citizens should buy health insurance as early as possible so that the long-term plan can compensate for this steep hike in prices. There are also various other family plans that offer health insurance premiums at affordable prices.
- Ancillary Services Remain Uncovered
Ancillary services include all those medical services apart from hospitalization. They may include diagnostic purposes, ambulance services, and other expenses for medical emergencies. These expenses usually increase the overall costs and insurance companies may not always cover the ancillary services. Different companies have different health policies and insurers should always make sure what they are applying for. It is good to apply for the ones who cover the maximum of these expenses.
- Mandatory Health Check-Ups
Fresh medical insurance urges full medical checkups before processing applications. This is a risky process since an insurer with high risk may reject an application anytime. If not, a higher premium is charged which adds to the expenses and affordability rates. During this step, any pre-existing health condition is revealed and these points may or may not be listed in the health insurance coverages. The issue is not strict for all companies as different health insurance companies provide different policies for their customers. These depend on a number of factors.
- The Clause of Co-Payment
Many individual health insurances offer a co-payment clause, especially for senior citizens. This allows them to share a certain part of a hospital bill and pay for only that percentage of the bill. However, the higher the co-payment, the lower is the premium amount. This also becomes an issue at the time of a medical emergency, when paying a major portion of the hospital bill becomes an impossible task. Therefore, insurers should always go through the co-payment policies of health insurance companies and be absolutely sure of them before applying.
- The Waiting Period Clause
Last, but not least, is the waiting period clause. Almost every health insurance plan has this clause irrespective of them being a family plan, a plan for senior citizens, or an individual plan. In this clause, insurers have to wait for a certain period of time after application, likely to be a few years, before they can claim against their medical condition. This issue might not be major for younger people but for senior citizens, this is a major hassle. The waiting period can continue for over 2 to 3 years which is quite stressful for the ones who cannot avail of medical treatment for certain conditions or emergencies.
There are also certain other exclusions in medical insurance. However, these issues are not universal for all companies. Insurers should thoroughly go through the clauses and policies of health insurance companies before applying. The plans especially for senior citizens should be carried out with complete awareness and precision in order to avoid any future hassle.
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