Comprehensive Guide to How Cashless Hospitalization Works

A medical emergency can dig a deep hole in your life savings. In addition to the emotional suffering, you could end up spending all your savings in hospitalization and treatment. This is why it is important to invest in a health insurance plan for any kind of emergency. A health plan will provide a cover against the cost of hospitalization but you will still have to pay for it from your pocket before you make a claim. This is when a cashless health insurance plan makes a difference.

What is Cashless Hospitalization?

As the name suggests, cashless hospitalization removes the hassles of having to pay cash at the hospital when you are admitted. Insurance companies enter into an agreement with the hospitals in their network to pay for the treatment that you undergo. A cashless plan acts as a savior by ensuring that you need not pay any out-of-pocket expenses during hospitalization.

How Does Cashless Hospitalization Work?

Let us assume that you are admitted to a hospital after an accident. If you have cashless health insurance, you will not be required to pay for the hospital bills at the time of discharge from the hospital. All you have to do is inform the insurer about the hospitalization and the company will settle the bills. You do not need to wait for the company to reimburse the money at a later stage.

Benefits of Cashless Hospitalization

1. Corpus for Medical Emergencies

cashless claims, you can save the time required to arrange for medical expenses. You can get the treatment by simply showing your cashless health insurance policy card to the network hospital. The policy assures you that you have a corpus for any future medical emergency.

2. Comprehensive Coverage

A cashless health insurance policy will provide complete coverage for hospitalization expenses, in-patient care, and ambulance expenses, among various other facilities.

3. Tax Benefit

The premium amount paid for medical insurance is eligible for a deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Factors to Consider While Opting for Cashless Hospitalization

Listed below are two factors you need to keep in mind before you purchase a cashless health insurance plan.

• Network hospitals

• Co-payment

• Sum insured

• Claim settlement ratio

• No-Claim Bonus

• Day care coverage

• Maternity Benefits

• Lifetime renewal

• Free medical check-up

Exclusions

Your cashless health insurance plan will tackle any financial blows that result out of hospitalization. However, some items are not included in the policy. These include admission fees, attendant’s fees, service charges, toiletries, and any expense related to syringes, diapers, and oxygen masks.

You need to remember that the cashless service is only available at network hospitals and if the request for settlement is denied, you can still pay at the hospital and get a reimbursement of the amount at a later stage. To avail of the cashless facility, it is important to send a timely intimation to the insurer. It can be rightly said that a cashless health insurance policy is like an umbrella on a rainy day. The plan ensures that you get the best healthcare and medication in case of an emergency without having to worry about the out-of-pocket expenses.