We all keep hearing about inflation and how it is affecting our daily lives, making bread and butter costlier. It is also affecting household budgets and disturbing a million lives. Medical Inflation is a reason of worried.
However, what nobody talks about is medical inflation which is even more dangerous given the state of medical & health facilities and infrastructure in our country. While buying health insurance plans for families, medical inflation is something that is not discussed even by the sellers of the policies.
You will be shocked to know that, unlike inflation which hovers in the range of 5-6%, medical inflation usually grows in double digits. As per the latest estimates, it is elevating at a faster pace. This means that the cost of getting medical treatment is increasing faster than the expense of any other thing in the country. And this is at a time when incomes are not rising fast enough, while insurance policies are also not being bought keeping in mind the medical inflation.
When purchasing a family health plan or an individual insurance policy, we tend to consider only the premium and the coverage amount, but seldom have we followed the methodology to arrive at the coverage amount. The best way to do that is to be aware of medical expenses for various kinds of procedures and treatments undertaken in a hospital. With the advancement in technology, the prices of various surgical procedures are also rising, even though technology should bring down the prices. Wonder why?
The answer is inadequate medical infrastructure and a shortage of talented doctors. Add on to this the increase in private hospitals rather than government-run facilities and this becomes a recipe for costly medical expenditure. You’ll be alarmed to know nearly 80% of the medical cost is paid by people from their personal pockets. Even if there is a Health insurance policy in effect, the cover is not in tune with medical inflation. The situation is such that the insurance provider pays only a minimal amount of the medical cost and the major chunk has to be borne by the individual from his personal resources.
What is the solution then?
There are a few things you can keep in mind while buying insurance.
Firstly, have a general idea of medical expenses for acute illnesses. It would be a good option to understand how much a cardiac bypass costs or the expenses incurred in getting dialysis or the cost for treatment of cancer including chemotherapy and medications.
Secondly, check out the cover you currently have. Whether an individual or a family health plan, the cover should be in tandem with medical inflation. If you think it is not enough, you can buy a separate health insurance policy for a larger coverage amount, or you can get a top-up on your existing plan. Getting a top-up is a preferred option as the extra premium will be less than the premium you have to pay for a new policy. Since you’ll be dealing with your current insurance provider, the paperwork as well as the time is taken for the policy to be issued will be considerably reduced.
Also, do remember that even if you have an insurance cover provided by your employer, having a separate insurance policy is always preferable to safeguard your interests. You can invest in either an individual health insurance plan or can buy Health insurance plans for a family with adequate cover.
Investing in health insurance has to be a thought of decision and shouldn’t be taken in haste. Both direct, as well as indirect costs, have to be considered before buying a health insurance policy. Apart from researching about the best insurance plans and the best insurance providers, an equal amount of effort has to be put in to understand and calculate medical inflation. Once you’re aware of it, then finalize your financial requirements and select the right plan accordingly with the right cover for you and your family members.
Rising Medical Inflation in India
Rising healthcare inflation is not only a problem for us, but the whole country suffering from this.. how? We all know that healthcare is the weak point of India, we are witness to it. In recent times, during the Covid-19 second wave, there was a crisis of oxygen in hospitals of New Delhi city and it’s not a new thing in India. A few years back, in government hospital children were dying because of not having sufficient oxygen in the hospital. Rising healthcare inflation in India is a curse for a lot of people, half of the Indian population is not able to get treatment in a private hospital and it’s a curse for them because they can’t pay the long bill of the hospital.
As a matter of fact, medical inflation is increasing at the rate of 18% to 20% every year and the rising rate is considerable and will increase further with the passage of time. One thing which is certain is that better education and better treatment is the basic need of everyone and everyone should also get the benefit of it. In the last 70 years, the country has not developed as much as the medical field has gone ahead in today’s time. Well, there is a certain reason why healthcare inflation is rising so rapidly.
- Poor Performance of Government Hospital.
- Lack of qualified and knowledgeable experts in the medical field.
- New diseases emerging year after year are also a special reason for this.
- The cost of diagnostic equipment and advanced technology used in the medical field is quite expensive.
These are the certain reasons why still India is far away to become one of the best places in terms of healthcare, nowadays living a healthy life is the basic need of every people and after Covid-19 living a fit life is the aim of everyone. With the increasing time, life on earth has become a bit difficult; things like pollution and virus-like Covid-19 are making life difficult.
Make sure that you have the best family health plan with maximum cover, to live a relaxed and stress-free life.