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Health Insurance India: What is Health Insurance, Coverage, Mediclaim

In this article, I want to introduce the concept of health insurance.  Health Insurance (premium) is the sum of money you pay per year to cover for any medical procedures, or accident cover that you may have to incur during the year. In case you fall sick and are hospitalized, your entire procedure may cost you Rs. 50,000 (for example). If you do not have health insurance, you will have to pay these charges yourself. This will be a very steep price to pay for most people. But if you have health insurance, you insurance company will pay these charges.

Health Insurance Premium

Of course, to buy a health insurance policy costs you some money that you pay the insurance company. This is called the “insurance premium“. The premium that you pay per year depends on your age, your health condition, the amount of coverage,  and some other factors. The younger you are, the lesser you pay. This is because the chances of you taking ill are lower.  The premium are a few thousand rupees per year (may be a little more or less, but this is about average).

Health Insurance Coverage

The premium also depends on “how much insurance coverage” you want. For example, if you want to be covered for Rs. 1,00,000 per year, then your premium will be more than if you wanted coverage for Rs.50,000. When we talk about coverage, it means, if you fall sick, the insurance company will cover you for Rs. 50,000 or Rs. 1,00,000 for your medical bills depending on how much you have paid for. So obviously, if you want more coverage, you pay more premium.

What is Mediclaim?

Mediclaim is another name for health insurance. Some insurance companies have relationships with hospitals due to which you need not pay your medical bill upfront. You may have a health insurance card, which when presented to the hospitals takes care of the payments. In other cases, you may need to foot all the bills yourself. Later, you present your bills to the insurance company and claim a refund for you medical expenses.