Health Insurance for Parents

Why Do You Need Health Insurance for Parents in India?

As your parents grow, their healthcare requirements also evolve, making it crucial to ensure their well-being with the best health insurance for parents. Here is why you need health insurance for your parents:

• Age-related Health Risks: As mentioned above, parents become more vulnerable to severe conditions with age. A parental insurance plan guarantees coverage for lasting treatments and handles medical costs.
• Growing Healthcare Expenses: With increasing medical expenses, medical insurance for parents shields them from hefty bills. They don't have to worry about services like hospital stays and surgeries that cost lakhs with a good health plan.
• Rising Lifestyle Diseases: The increase in lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension makes healthcare costly. The best health insurance for parents offers coverage for the high long-term care costs.
• High-quality Treatment Access: The best health insurance for parents in India guarantees that your parents receive exceptional quality treatment without compromising on care.
• Shielding Retirement Savings: A parental insurance policy protects your parents' retirement funds, averting clinical bills from exhausting their savings and safeguarding their future.
• Cashless Hospitalisation: With medical insurance for parents, you can avail of cashless treatment at a vast network of hospitals, making emergency care trouble-free.
• Tax Benefits: Premiums paid for a parental insurance plan are eligible for tax deductions under Section 80D, making it a financially good choice for health and tax savings.

What is Covered under the Mediclaim Policy for Parents?

Here is what the Mediclaim policy for parents covers, which enables them to access the best medical facility during any emergency hospitalisation. You get the choice to pick an individual or a floater option and get the following coverage and benefits:

• Hospitalisation cover: The plan covers inpatient care and medical treatment expenses, including ICU charges you incur while your parents are hospitalised.
• Daycare treatments cover: Most surgical procedures and treatments do not require you to stay in a hospital for more than a day. Your parents can now get coverage for modern daycare treatments, making this policy the best health insurance for parents.
• Pre- and post-hospitalisation coverage: The insurance covers medical expenses, such as diagnostic tests and medication, up to 30 days before hospitalisation and 60 days after discharge.
• Pre-existing diseases coverage: The mediclaim policy for parents will cover treatment expenses for pre-existing diseases, subject to a minimum waiting period, ensuring they get medical care without delays.
• Second opinion: The policyholder is entitled to a second opinion on any significant illness or injury in a policy year.
• Organ donor cover: One may incur organ donor expenses to treat a critical ailment. We cover medical expenses up to the specified amount, subject to the policy T&C.
• Automatic recharge: If you exhaust the sum insured, it is automatically reinstated up to the sum insured per policy year under the benefit of automatic recharge.
• Annual health check-up: Your parents can get medical benefits annually to monitor their health.

What is not covered under the Health Insurance Policy for Parents?

Health insurance policies for parents often involve certain exclusions, specific conditions, or situations that the insurance will not cover. While exact exclusions differ between insurers and policy types, here are standard exclusions typically not covered under parental insurance policies:

• Many policies involve a waiting period for pre-existing diseases, usually between 2-3 years, before they cover pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.
• Cosmetic or aesthetic treatments for cosmetic purposes, such as plastic surgery or Botox treatments, are not covered unless medically required due to mishaps.
• Regular dental checkups, cosmetic dental procedures, and eyeglasses or contact lenses are usually not covered unless they are part of an exhaustive plan or due to an accident.
• Treatments like Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, or Naturopathy may not be covered unless explicitly mentioned in the policy.
• Any harm caused intentionally, including suicide attempts, is generally not covered.
• Health issues arising from alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants are usually excluded.
• Treatments or procedures not recognised or approved by medical authorities are typically not covered.
• Injuries or illnesses arising due to war, terrorism, nuclear risks, or civil unrest are not covered.
• Medical treatment expenses due to pregnancy and childbirth, miscarriage, abortion, and their consequences.

Note: Refer to the original policy document for the complete list of exclusions

Mediclaim Policy for Parents - Eligibility Criteria

The insured person should be:

How to Choose the Best Health Insurance for Parents in India?

There are different health insurance plans you can get for your parents. However, a suitable health insurance policy must include coverage for pre-existing diseases, cashless hospitalisation, and a higher sum insured. Consider these factors when buying health insurance for parents:

• Check the Entry Age Criteria: You can easily find the best health policy for parents without restricting the maximum entry age. However, an individual should be 61 or older for a senior citizen health insurance policy.
• Type of Coverage: The best health insurance for parents involves two coverage options: individual and floater. Depending on whether you need individual healthcare insurance or a combined one for your entire family, you can opt for the individual or floater cover, respectively.
• Coverage Amount: You should look for medical insurance for parents with a high sum insured. When selecting a parent's health insurance, ensure they get adequate coverage and protection.
• Policy Benefits: Check the policy's benefits, including coverage for modern-day-care procedures, pre- and post-hospitalisation medical expenses, and alternative treatments.
• Co-payment: Co-payment is a mandatory aspect of medical insurance for parents. Under this feature, the policyholder must pay a certain percentage of the hospital bills. When selecting a policy, remember to opt for plans with a waived co-payment feature.
• Waiting Period: When opting for health insurance in India, check for the waiting period clause. Health plans have an initial waiting period of 30 days, a 2-year waiting period for specified diseases, and a 4-year waiting period for pre-existing illnesses. When reviewing the plans, remember that the lower the waiting period, the better you can get coverage without delay.
• Renewability: The best health insurance for parents provides a lifelong renewability option. This helps your parents get continued coverage in the future. Always check if the feature is available while selecting an option.
• Daycare Treatments: These days, minimally invasive surgeries, cataract surgery, chemotherapy, dialysis, etc., are possible in daycare. So, always apply for a policy that covers a maximum number of daycare treatments.
• Cashless Network Hospitals: When buying medical insurance for parents in India, you must check the list of cashless hospitals that the company includes. Find out the network hospitals nearest to your locality so that you can make a timely and hassle-free claim for your parents' medical treatment.
• Read the policy documents: When reviewing and comparing medical insurance plans, you must carefully go through the details of your policy documents. Look for the inclusions and treatments for which your parents will be covered, the exclusions, and the cases when you cannot make a policy claim.

Why Buy Health Insurance for Parents Online?

Here is why buying health insurance for parents online is beneficial:

• Convenient Policy Selection: There is no need to schedule countless appointments to discuss policy details. Care Health Insurance offers an all-digital policy selection experience wherein you can study, compare, choose, and pay for the best health insurance for parents from anywhere, anytime.
• Chat Option for Queries: The CHI team is readily available to answer all your questions concerning the terms and conditions of our healthcare policies. You can use the live chat option to discuss any policy-related matter at your convenience.
• Instant Quote Calculation: We offer digital premium and coverage calculators to help you choose customised parents' health insurance.
• Secure Payment Modes: We provide digitally secure payment options, including credit/debit cards or net banking. Once issued, you shall receive authentic policy documents immediately.
• Transparent Policy Evaluation: What we promise on paper is what you get when you need medical care. Our parents’ healthcare policy includes all the terms and conditions for your reference.
• Efficiently Available Value-Added Services: While browsing our healthcare policy for parents online, you can easily check out other add-on benefits. These include COVID and OPD care, co-payment waiver, and reduced wait time, among others, to cover your specific needs.

List of Documents Required for Parental Insurance

Mentioned below are the vital documents that need to be submitted for availing of a mediclaim policy for parents:

• Identity Proof- Aadhar Card, Passport, Voter ID, Driving Licence
• Address Proof- Aadhar Card, Utility Bills, Driving Licence, Rent Agreement
• Age Proof- PAN Card, Birth Certificate, Aadhar Card, Passport, Voter ID, Driving Licence

What is the Procedure For Parents Filing a Claim Under Mediclaim?

You can get a claim for parents under the mediclaim policy in two ways - a cashless claim and a reimbursement claim. Here are the steps to avail of the cashless facility:

• Select a network hospital for cashless medical treatment
• Duly fill and submit the pre-authorisation form at the hospital TPA desk, along with ID proof of the patient
• The hospital will send us the documents
• Our claim management team will verify the documents. It may raise a query if required
• The claim management team will share an approval letter

Here are the steps to avail of the reimbursement claim facility:

• Fill out the reimbursement claim form and attach all the required documents.
• Submit the form to us and share the necessary documents.
• The claim management team may raise the query.
• Once we verify the documents, you will get an approval letter from the claim management team.
• After approval, the hospitalisation expenses will be reimbursed to the sum insured.

Tips for Ageing Parents to Achieve Good Health and Overall Well-Being

Your elderly parents might know all the secret recipes for ageing gracefully, and yet miss out on some crucial health risks. Here are some health tips for senior citizens:

• Exercises: Staying physically active will help your elderly parents drive fatigue and lethargy away, which is natural as one ages. Physical activity is vital for improving joint flexibility, bone strength and physical endurance and ensuring overall well-being.
• Healthy Eating: Elders must listen to their nutritional requirements carefully. Proper nutrition can help senior citizens prevent illnesses and fight diseases with a better immune system. Eating a well-balanced diet that mainly includes immunity-boosting foods is vital. Besides, sufficient water intake helps the body maintain energy levels.
• Adequate Sleep: Changing sleep patterns and signs of insomnia or sleep apnea require attention, and older adults need at least 8 hours of restful sleep per day. Setting a sleep schedule, following relaxation techniques, and encouraging good sleep habits will ensure they get uninterrupted and restful sleep.
• Mental Health: Age-related memory loss is common, but one should take measures to prevent the progressive damage caused by stress and ailments like Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Practising meditation, staying physically active, and eating foods that boost cognitive functions work best for mental health.
• Regular health check-ups: Monitoring health is vital as one ages, since it helps identify hidden health problems and get treatment early before complications arise. So, never postpone visits to the doctor or the dentist.
• Stay away from Myths: Several ageing-related myths exist that will only make you more anxious. The common belief is that growing older means poor health and various illnesses. However, one should realise that we can make positive changes to our lifestyle, thus allowing a person to stay healthy, defeat the challenges of ageing, and delay the onset of diseases.
• Connect socially: Spending time with loved ones, whether new friends, family, children, or grandchildren, will make your elderly parents feel upbeat and give them a fresh perspective. It will help them drive away loneliness and achieve a positive impact on their physical and mental health.
• Develop new interests: Retirement is a phase of life that gives a person ample time to pursue new interests and hobbies, such as learning a new language, travelling to a new place, getting involved in community work, or buying a second home. It is never too late to make a beginning.

Why Should You Choose Care Health Insurance for Parental Policy in India?

Choosing Care Health Insurance for your parents is about shielding their health with reliable and exhaustive coverage designed to meet their growing medical needs. With a robust track history in the health insurance sector, Care offers plans concentrating on high-quality care, rapid claim processing, and access to a vast hospital network nationwide, ensuring peace of mind during medical crises.

Care Supreme Senior is customised specifically for individuals aged 61 and above. It addresses the diverse health risks of ageing by giving benefits like no pre-policy medical tests, coverage for pre-existing diseases from the second year, annual health checkups, and no room rent restrictions. The plan also includes wellness programs that help manage chronic conditions, making it perfect for ageing parents who want trouble-free and strong financial protection.

On the other hand, Care Supreme is a comprehensive family floater or individual plan ideal for those under 60 but still looking for a robust layer of medical coverage. It includes features like unlimited automatic recharge of the sum insured, cashless hospitalisation at a vast network of hospitals, and wide-ranging coverage for modern treatments and day care procedures. It also offers additional benefits like health checkups from Day 1 and coverage for alternative therapies like AYUSH. It is a good choice if your parents are younger or you are seeking a consistent plan as they age.