It has been rightly said that “Health is wealth”
A wealth so precious that nothing can be compared to it, one should remember that a “body is the only place you get to live in” so ensuring that you remain healthy and at the same time also guaranteeing that you are well-prepared to foresee the unknown which means you are ready to field and bat both regardless of the side you are playing from.
In life we need to be prepared for any curveball that may come our way, we need to be prepared whether it is for us or our family members, anyone being hit would have equal emotional and financial trauma over all the family members.
The family health insurance plans provides us coverage against all such curve balls that one might need to be 100% prepared and on-feet for, but before you purchase and procure the plan you need to be sure and to be sure you might need some clarifications and some answers to the questions that you might have in your mind, we have compiled some very basic questions and answers to them to help you guide through the process.
How are family health insurance plans differ from other plans?
Purchasing family health insurance coverage may be overwhelming; as usually all decisions are relating to our families are taken with more care and with all due consideration. However, family plans are very similar to individual health insurance plans. Think of a family health insurance plan as an individual plan only with more members added to the policy.
What qualifies as a family for health insurance?
Relationship to You that directly depended on you, for instance, a child to qualify in the health policy they need to be your biological child, your stepchild, your adopted child (legally), it means that the child should be qualified your own to be added in your family policy and your wife as well.
Does having health insurance make you healthier?
Procuring the “Health-Policy” didn’t make patients any healthier than those who did not have insurance they still had the same issues like cholesterol and blood pressure levels as the others people with/without the policy.
On the other hand, health insurance actually might have mental health benefits which include less stressing about finances and lesser risks.
Can you live without health insurance?
There is no law or rule about not having health insurance or not having insurance being a punishable offence, but you do face risks and unforeseen events that you may have to handle on your own if you choose to go uninsured.
Can a hospital refuse to treat a patient with no insurance?
If, a person does not have a health insurance policy the hospital or the doctor cannot refuse/deny patient access to medicine and health care. While a doctor has every right to deny treatment for several reasons, they can’t refuse to treat a person with life-threatening or serious injuries even if they don’t have health insurance or the ability to pay.
What happens when you don’t have health insurance and go to the hospital?
If you don’t have health insurance, paying for the hospital expenses can seem overwhelming. If you need, medical attention, it is important that you get medical care before the condition worsens. So if something like this occurs and you have to visit a hospital emergency room you shall be provided with the attention but you would be needed to pay in cash.
Can you buy health insurance at any time?
In Pakistan, you could buy a health plan at any time of the year. Your plan calendar would start from the date of purchase to the next year date of purchase, at that, you can renew the plan or switch to another provider as well depending upon your experience with your provider. But now, in the developed world except for special circumstances; you can purchase insurance only during the period known as “open enrollment”. However, some countries are extending the open enrollment time so that more and more people can procure health insurance
What you should know about the normal costs for family coverage…
As with all other things it also goes with the insurance policies, there are a few different kinds of costs to consider while shopping for insurance:
Premiums/payments: Premiums are the yearly payments you make to get and stay enrolled in your family plan. An average family plan cost around PKR 3400 for Husband, spouse and three kids an average family.
Deductibles and Limit: Your deductible or your coverage limit is the amount of money that you have to pay out-of-pocket before your health insurance takes overpayment or it is also after you’ve utilized the limit assigned from your family health insurance stated coverage by the provider that year.
What to keep in mind while shopping for coverage for your family…
When you shop for coverage, you have more to consider than if you were shopping for individual coverage. While a plan with a low premium might seem appealing at first, you must consider and remember that you’re shopping for health insurance for your children and your wife. So if it’s about buying health insurance for kids, you should consider looking for a family plan with a higher annual premium which shall lead to higher coverage since you have several people’s healthcare needs being covered under one plan.
If you have a larger family than a four-person household, you can expect your insurance to be more expensive overall; however, you may end up paying less per person. You’re also likely to pay less per person if the members of your family are in good health and age is not much. In this case, it’s smart to get an assurance policy that covers preemptive care to keep your family healthy and costs lower in the long run. Additionally, you should not buy an expensive family policy, if you’re getting your cover through an employer.
While family coverage may seem expensive, your finances can be impacted by unexpected medical expenses if you do not have health insurance for you and your family. If you have trouble affording health insurance some programs and incentives help you keep your family covered.
Example of how Premiums and people affect your plan…
When you by a family health insurance plan, you add-on more people than your plan and when you add people your cost also increase for instance: Aziz and Zahra have five children, ages 5, 8, 12, 20 and 22. Their health plan covers five of them, they’re only charged on their annual premium for five people. They’re not charged for their two oldest children, because they have grown up and cannot be covered under a family policy. The eldest two children would require separate individual policies with a separate premium and a separate coverage amount.
Few other things that need to be kept in mind while purchasing insurance for the family are important an keeping this in view it would help a lot to make better decisions.
Buy early to get the best price
The premium of health insurance is calculated and charged as per the age, for instance, the older you are the greater the premium would be, so if you enrol your family for the plan and continuously renew the plan every year, which add-ons it would increase the coverage ambit each year and be constantly insured would also reflect well on your insurance history.
Your company health insurance is not enough
In today’s era, the majority of the companies are providing health insurance to their employees and it also works as one of the prime reason to retain employees for longer and an apparatus to greater productivity. So many employers have been providing this cushion to make it a win-win situation at the same time one needs to wonder in the current scenario how can one be too sure that the umbrella that is the employer’s health insurance would continue to exist and there would not be any unwarranted situation? Sadly there is no guarantee that one can take upon themselves so to keep it simple, ensure your family, it would not only take away your stress of being vulnerable but at the same time would avert the financial risk that may happen during this uncertain situation. Also if all goes well, as we really hope and your employer’s health insurance umbrella is there intact you should always welcome an added cover as a float to help you during emergency medical crises. Keeping in view the increased medical expenses which are snowballing day by day, by getting family health you would save yourself an end-of-the-moment-stress.
To ensure the family has sufficient coverage
As it rightly said: “blood is always thicker than water” so one must and one always does ensure that he/she be it mother or father or husband and wife all wants the best for their family and never would like to see even a teeny-tiny tear in the eyes of their loved ones, so whenever you shop for family health insurance to keep the present medical expenses in view and purchase your family health insurance plan with the due deliberation and consideration. Once you procure the plan it can be changed after one year only.
A sedentary lifestyle has caused many ailments
An inactive, in-front-of-the-TV and laptop, too-much-reliance-on-gadgets and use of domestic help have made us an attractive and very inviting host for all the ailments present today. We and our unhealthy lifestyles are the core of so many health hazards. While purchasing an adequate family health insurance plan, you should also focus on some real-time physical exercise like walking, playing some light sports, take up swimming and along with eating healthy is a must. We should always be watchful of what we put into that body of ours, we have only got one.
To ensure better financial planning
Well, we all know that “insurance” is an assurance to saving for the future also it helps in transferring risks from the policyholder to the service provider. It is important to realize that in just a few thousands one can merely acquire coverage of hundreds of thousands. For instance, if a family health insurance is worth PKR25,000 against that you can get overage for PKR 500,000 if calculated properly is a great benefit which you can avail in the time of need. At that time not only would be the insurance a blessing but would feel like divine intervention, such as God sending angels your way!
Unforeseen ailments and events
COVID-19 has been one of the prime examples of how unforeseen events can impact your socio-economic conditions around you and make you vulnerable and exposed to the surroundings. COVID-19 has enveloped the whole world under its strain and has been not only causing health emergency but as well as leading to a full-fledge economic emergency. So there is a lesson learned from this situation that crisis can arise from anywhere anytime and can affect everyone. We need to keep ourselves prepared for any foreseen circumstance and being prepared is important. In all the preparedness health insurance is one of the most important elements that should be on your list of essentials.
Covers ancillary expenses as well
Health insurance policy does not only covers your hospitalization expenses but it covers ancillary expenses as well, for instance, if you visit a doctor and he recommends you to get some tests done, after getting the tests done, the doctor instructs you get admission for further procedures. So when you are admitted in the hospital, not only your hospitalization expenses are covered but also the series of expenses and procedures incurred before you were hospitalized would be compensated and remunerated as well.
So it’s an absolute win-win situation for the family insured to curtail the financial burden in the era of inflation and uncertainty…..
Advantages of Health Insurance
Of course, the most obvious and absolute advantage is that health insurance provides coverage for some of your healthcare expenses. Doctor’s visits trip to the emergency room and specialist treatments may be paid for (either in part or in whole) in some types of insurance and by some insurance providers. With health insurance, large hospital bills associated with surgery or other major treatments may also be covered depending on your specific policy and the coverage offered in the desired premiums. The policy providers will also have a large network of hospitals on the panel to facilitate its insured to the maximum. When you acquire family health insurance from your chosen provider it might include shorter wait times, greater individualized attention and more sophisticated facilities. Public facilities which can be utilized without insurance overcrowded and may take a longer time to access these resources also at times and may provide a lower level of care in many cases.
Some questions that we might ask ourselves…
If insurance is so important, why do people go uninsured?
A simple answer is that a lot of people go uninsured because of financial reasons as according to a 2017 KFF survey, most uninsured individuals who are uninsured, go without health insurance because the cost is too bear might be too high – about 45%.
At 22%, the second most common reason that has been found uninsured people goes without health insurance is that they lost their job or changed employers and because of that they lost their employer-sponsored insurance and then they did not buy insurance after losing the employer-sponsored one.
Other groups of people said that they were uninsured because they lost their suitability or lost coverage through their spouse, parent, or because of another status change or something else happened in their life.
Another question that usually comes up is that, can I get insured after losing coverage through an employer, family member?
If you lose coverage through a spouse, parent, or loose job and employer-sponsored insurance you can get insurance yourself. However, if you lose coverage through an employer or family member and you don’t have any kind of coverage you can easily logon at Smartchoice.pk and acquire the required family insurance plan with the desired coverage by paying the premium annually. So, it doesn’t matter if you lose the insurance provided by the employer, you can get one by putting some money down for the insurance and getting the greater benefit.
Last but not the least, how do you get affordable coverage?
If cost is what is keeping you from purchasing coverage, you should be happy to know that there are affordable plans you can opt from, amongst multiple providers. Start shopping on Smartchoice.pk to find the right kind of coverage that will protect your finances from the costs that come with being uninsured. You can find the right health insurance for your budget and your needs.
There are many choices and add-ons available as per your desired coverage in the policy that would vary in prices and would fit any policy.
CONCLUSION
Getting an appropriate kind of insurance is needed to enjoy the perks aforementioned of health insurance. These plans depending upon their coverage and premium classify that how a person will be given the treatment, how much the insurance is going to pay an what are its limitations, including the fact who else in his family will enjoy the insurance perks.
So don’t think much on what to get and what not to get…also don’t ponder on whether it’s worth the money or not. It’s an absolute must that you buy the insurance for the family for a safe, secure and healthy family.
