Now OPD cost can be covered under Health Insurance

We are feeling the impact of market economy in a big way as ICICI Lombard has introduced a new health insurance product called Health Advantage. This is the first product to cover OPD bills paid for consulting doctors/dental treatment expenses/ over the counter purchase of medicines and orthopaedic treatment. It also covers surgeries, accidents and sudden illnesses that usual health insurance products do not cover.

Naturally nothing comes free in this world and you have to pay a cost for the everything which is worthwhile.But all this is at a cost. The premiums for the policy are three times the premiums you might be paying for ordinary health policies.

The Tax advantage is significant as the policy is specially designed to give the customer tax benefit of Rs 15,000 (Rs 20,000 for senior citizens) under Section 80D. Says ICICI Lombard’s marketing head Karthik Jain, “This policy would be most suitable for people who fall under the higher tax slab of 30 percent.”

Cover. Health Advantage covers all preexisting diseases if the policy is renewed for the third consecutive year. In contrast, most healthcare policies cover pre-existing diseases only after the fourth or fifth continuous renewal.

Premium advantage. The premium has been fixed at Rs 15,000 for ages 5 to 60, and Rs 20,000 for ages 61 to 70. The same premiums are charged for a sum assured of Rs 2 lakh or Rs 3 lakh with different sets of benefits. There are two types of benefits that the policy extends: hospitalization expenses and outpatient treatment expenses. In a Rs 3 lakh cover, the hospitalization expenses get increased by another Rs 1 lakh, but the outpatient expenses are reduced by Rs 500.

We are getting more details of this policy and will cover in another blog in a day or so.