A family health plan, as the name suggests, acts as a safety net that covers the medical expenses of the entire family. Instead of individual plans, you can buy health insurance that covers all the members of the family.
In these plans, you can seek coverage for spouse, children, and even parents by paying a single premium, without the hassles of maintaining multiple policies. The sum insured amount in family health plans is shared among all the members.
What are the benefits of family health insurance?
Here are some of the notable advantages of buying health insurance plans for a family:
- Financial security
It protects the insured family from expensive medical costs. Hospital stays can drain your savings in no time. Having a health plan for the entire family helps cover these expenses, allowing you to keep your savings untouched.
- Cost-efficient premium amount
You don’t need to pay a premium for each insured individual, like an individual health plan. In family health plans, all the members are covered under a single policy, so you pay a single premium, which is much more affordable than individual premiums for each member.
- Flexibility to add members
Health insurance plans for families allow you to add members, such as your spouse or newborn, to the existing policy. All you need to do is inform the insurer and pay an extra premium.
- Easy to manage
Since you have a single health plan for the entire family, you can easily manage the renewals and premiums and keep track. Tracking and maintaining individual plans take more time and effort.
- Tax benefits
When you buy health insurance for your family, you can claim a deduction of up to ₹25,000 annually against the premium amount as per Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. For senior citizens, the amount is 50,000.
What is covered under a family health insurance?
Here are some of the common inclusions of family health insurance:
- In-patient Hospitalisation Expenses
It covers all medical expenses incurred during hospital stays for more than 24 hours due to illness, surgery, or injury.
- Day Care Procedures
Covers treatments and procedures that need less than 24 hours of hospitalisation, like chemotherapy or dialysis.
- Ambulance Charges
Expenses of ambulance services that take the insured to the hospital during a medical emergency are covered by family health plans.
- Pre and Post-Hospitalisation Expenses
Covers expenses incurred 30 days before hospitalisation and 60 days after discharge for diagnostic tests, medications, consultations, etc.
- Domiciliary Treatment
Treatments received at home when hospitals do not have enough beds or hospitalisation is not possible due to the patient’s health conditions are also covered.
- OPD Cover
Covers expenses for outpatient doctor consultations, prescribed medicines, and diagnostic tests that do not require hospital admission.
- Consumables Cover
It offers reimbursement for the expenses of non-medical items used in treatment, like syringes, gloves, cotton, or diapers.
- Health Check-ups
Covers the expenses of preventive health check-ups and screenings at the insurer’s network hospitals for early detection.
Conclusion
Health insurance plans for families offer extensive coverage and a higher sum insured amount compared to individual plans. With this plan, you can seek medical coverage for the entire family under a single plan, without any hassles of maintaining different plans at higher premiums.
