The Importance of Health Insurance for the Elderly
The Importance of Health Insurance for the Elderly: Health insurance for the elderly is important to have because old age groups tend to need special health services, both in terms of prevention and treatment. Along with the many risks of illness, the elderly (elderly) are the group most in need of health insurance.
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| The Importance of Health Insurance for the Elderly |
The more age increases, the greater a person experiences health problems due to degenerative processes. Based on basic health research (riskesdas) in 2013, most elderly suffer from non-communicable diseases such as hypertension (high blood pressure), osteoarthritis, dental and oral problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes mellitus.
Why Do Elders Need Insurance?
Health insurance is needed so that the savings that have been collected for life do not run out for medical expenses in old age. Health insurance can also be used to keep the elderly healthy, independent, active and productive socially and economically.
Generally, the maximum age limit for enrolling in health insurance is at the age of 65 in Indonesia. Those who have just applied for insurance in old age generally feel more burdened because premiums are paid many times more than users who have been insured since they were young. In addition, because they are considered more at risk than young people, the elderly need to undergo a health check that sometimes makes their application not approved by the insurance.
Therefore, when buying Health Insurance for the Elderly, there are several things that deserve consideration.
1. Start by Checking Cost Completeness
In choosing elderly health insurance, the following points need to be considered:
- What is the premium every month.
- What medical services are covered by the insurance.
- How do hospital or doctor payments be made (directly paid for by insurance or redeemed).
- How much is covered.
- Is the insurance accepted in many hospitals.
- Outpatient costs: the cost of consulting a doctor and / or the cost of purchasing drugs.
- Further inspection fees: laboratory tests.
- Hospitalization: for patients who need observation so they have to stay in the hospital. Includes room costs, care, medication, visits, and doctor's actions.
- Operation.
- Special therapy or treatment such as physiotherapy, chemotherapy, or postoperative care.
Notice whether the components covered include the following:
- Room fees & stay.
- Fees for ICU / ICCU rooms.
- Surgery / surgery costs (including the cost of anesthesia and the cost of the operating room, and 31 days before / after surgery).
- The cost of visiting a doctor at the hospital.
- The cost of visiting a specialist in a hospital (per treatment).
- Costs for laboratory examinations & diagnostic tests (7 days before hospitalization).
- Follow-up consultation costs up to 60 days after discharge.
- Ambulance fee.
- Costs of emergency outpatient care due to accidents.
- The cost of dental emergency outpatient due to an accident.
- Plastic surgery / surgery costs due to an accident.
- Transplantation of organs (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and bone marrow).
2. Honest Declares Conditions That Exist in Previously
Not being honest in informing the conditions that have been experienced before can make your claim not paid. The condition in question is a disease that has already been suffered before someone fills out the insurance registration form. The disease can be:
- Chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, asthma.
- Life-threatening diseases, such as cancer.
- Certain conditions, such as an injury or disability due to an accident.
What needs to be considered by people with these conditions when choosing insurance is whether all the costs of drugs in the long term and the cost of consulting a doctor during and after treatment will also be borne by the insurance company.
3. Don't Forget to Look at Critical Illness Insurance
Critical illness insurance generally pays funds equal to the sum insured when the insurance policy holder is exposed to a critical illness. The critical illness in question is a type of disease that can endanger lives, such as heart disease, kidney failure, cancer, and stroke.
Generally, people think that they will get immediate protection once they are diagnosed with early stage chronic disease, such as stage 1 cervical cancer. Apparently, most critical illness insurance will only pay claims when a person's illness has entered the advanced stage (stage 4 and above).
4. Understand the Insurance Fund
Also pay attention to the sum insured which can be overlapping. For example, there is insurance that offers critical insurance coverage of $ 3500, coverage if there is a disability of $ 3500, and compensation if you die $ 7000. Do not let you not read the terms that turn out to make you not receive maximum benefits. Make sure you read carefully and with the same understanding as what is written on the policy.
The best way is to insure since young, when the condition of the body is still healthy and the insurance premium is not yet high. So that, in old age everything was ready if at any time experienced pain or disaster.
In addition, because most insurance covers only customers up to age 65, it is also necessary to save for emergency health funds to be used after that age. Other steps can also use insurance that provides protection until the age of 80 years or even for life.