As your age progress, the chances of suffering from heart attacks or other heart-related complication increases too. And they can knock on your door without warning.
You can be a pretty active person who leads a healthy life. But heart-related complications can still hit you.
While we have many ways to treat heart diseases these days, the cost of the treatment isn’t cheap. The cost of treatment, hospitalization and medicines can easily devour your whole life’s savings.
That’s why you need proper health insurance for heart patients. In this article, we will show you everything you need to know about heart insurance for people with heart diseases. Let’s dive in.
What is a Health Insurance for People with Heart Disease?
According to the latest report by the Indian Heart Association, over 50% of all patients who have experienced heart attacks are 50 years old or younger.
The same report also says that around 25% of all patients who have experienced heart attacks are younger than 40 years old. This explains how important the health insurance plan for heart patients is.
The cost of medical treatments is skyrocketing with every passing year, which is especially true for the cost of treatments and surgeries for medical conditions related to the heart.
If you don’t have a proper cardiac health plan, the cost of treatment can quickly wipe out your entire life’s savings.
A cardiac insurance plan covers the cost of treatment for multiple heart diseases, including heart failure, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and a few more.
To ensure that the treatment of these diseases doesn’t drag your family into a financial crisis, you must buy a heart insurance plan.
Key Features of Health Insurance for Heart Disease
Every cardiac health plan comes with a lot of features and benefits. Here’s a list of some of the most common features of such plans:
- Hospitalization Cover: This health plan covers the cost of hospitalization (as long as it’s because of medical conditions related to heart diseases) and medical bills associated with the treatment of heart-related diseases.
- Financial Protection: The treatment, diagnosis, medicine, and hospitalization costs for heart diseases can quickly empty your life’s savings, dragging your family into a grave financial crisis. With insurance for heart diseases, you can make a claim to receive financial support from your insurer for any heart-related medical conditions. So, you can live your life in peace, knowing that you have a financial safety net for cardiac treatments.
- Lump Sum Payment of the Insured Sum: If you are diagnosed with cardiac disease or other heart-related complications, the insurer will pay the coverage amount in a lump sum. This way, you don’t have to worry about not having enough money for the treatment, as there would rarely be a clause that will force you to pay a portion of the medical bills.
- Loss of Income Cover: Whether you’re a salaried professional or a self-employed individual, getting seriously ill can result in loss of income, threatening the financial safety of your family. That’s especially true for people who might have to be hospitalized for a few months due to cardiac treatments. The best health insurance policies for heart patients in India can compensate for the loss of income of the policyholder while meeting many other miscellaneous expenses.
- Overseas Treatment Coverage: Sometimes, you might need to make an international trip to receive your heart treatment in a different country. This can often happen if you are suffering from a heart problem that is difficult to treat with the current medical technology and infrastructure in India. An excellent cardiac insurance policy should at least have overseas treatment coverage as an add-on. This way, your insurer will pay for the travel cost and overseas medical costs for treating the heart-related complication.
- Tax Benefits: According to the provisions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, any resident who purchases a health plan can receive tax deductions on the insurance premium. And the same applies to health insurance for heart diseases too. Under Section 80D, you can receive tax benefits of up to Rs. 25,000 on the premium of a cardiac health plan.
What Diseases or Treatments are Covered Under Cardiac Insurance in India?
Most cardiac health plans should cover the cost of the following treatments (or treatment of the following diseases):
- Heart attack of a pre-specified severity
- Valvuloplasty or Balloon Valvotomy
- Surgery to place Ventricular Assist Devices
- Pericardectomy
- Open Chest Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
- Surgery for Cardiac Arrhythmia
- Repair of Heart Valves or Open Heart Replacement
- Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillitor
- Minimally Invasive Surgery of the Aorta
- Primary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
- Angioplasty
- Insertion of Pacemaker Device
- Heart Transplant
What Isn’t Covered Under Most Cardiac Insurances in India?
Although medical insurance for heart patients cover many costs, there are still a few cost of treatment that it will not cover. Here’s a list of expenses that your cardiac health plan will not cover:
- Physical traumas and injuries are caused because of an attempt to self-harm or suicidal attempts.
- Internal congenital diseases.
- IVF and infertility tests and treatments.
- Treatments that are connected to abortion, childbirth, miscarriages, and other problems.
- Treatments related to injuries or illness caused by alcohol or drug abuse.
- Hospitalization costs related to the injuries inflicted because of war, strikes, riots, or nuclear weapons will not be covered.
Final Thoughts
Heart-related problems are one of the biggest reasons for death in India. In fact, according to a 2019 The New York Times publication, people who live in India are four times more likely to suffer from heart problems and diseases compared to other people around the globe.
And treatments for heart-related complications are expensive. That’s why you should purchase health insurance for heart patients.
This way, you won’t have to worry about receiving proper treatment if you suffer from heart disease. The insurance company will take care of the payment for the treatment and hospitalization cost of the heart disease.
It will give you a secure financial net that will help you avoid financial crises due to the high cost of heart treatments.
