Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that pays for medical, surgical, and sometimes dental expenses incurred by the insured. Health insurance can reimburse the insured for expenses incurred from illness or injury, or pay the care provider directly. It is often included in employer benefit packages as a means of enticing quality employees, with premiums partially covered by the employer but often also deducted from employee paychecks. The cost of health insurance premiums is deductible to the payer, and the benefits received are tax-free.
The health situation and the provision of services vary considerably from one State to another. Although public health services in principle provide free basic health care to all, the care provided by most state health systems suffers from inadequate resources and poor management.
Types of Health Insurance
- Basic Medical Expense Policies
Cover doctor visits at the office or the hospital, laboratory services, and other care outside the hospital. Do not generally cover additional or major expenses. - Comprehensive Medical Coverage
Cover large medical expenses associated with major illness or injury. Cover almost everything, up to certain scheduled benefit limits. Costs are contained via Deductibles, Coinsurance, and Co-payments.
Basic terms used in healthcare
- Physicians / General Practitioners: Primary point of first contact for most individuals. Most localities have one or more GP’s
- Diagnostics: Tests and other checks performed to diagnose the illness, usually prescribed by Physicians to start with
- Specialists: recommended by Physicians, e.g. Heart specialist, ENT specialist, etc
- Medicines: Prescribed by any medical practitioner
- Hospitalization: Arises when illness requires services that are provided in a hospital environment, e.g. surgery
- Surgery: Act of being operated on by a surgeon. Typically requires post-care during the recovery phase
Disability insurance
- Disabilities are termed Living Death as they are potentially catastrophic due to both potential loss in income and cost of treatment.
- Unlike Life (based on Mortality), disability is based on Morbidity.
- The risk of reduced health, which typically arises in most people due to age
- Hence an already morbid person cannot avail of Disability insurance
- And usually, the presence of an ailment (e.g. Back pain) usually leads to its exclusion
- Income loss due to disability can therefore be managed as follows.
- Have an adequate emergency fund
- Have disability insurance
- Have both
