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Health Insurance

Post By Susant

Everything You Need to Know about Your Cashless Health Insurance Policy

Have you ever got a frantic call from a friend or relative telling you about a medical emergency in their family and a desperate need for cash? You can hardly imagine their difficult situation if they don't have ready cash. In such a scenario, the availability of cash can be the difference between good healthcare or bad; in short, the difference between life and death.

If such a situation were to arise in your family, you would immediately rush to the nearest ATM to withdraw money. However, your debit card doesn’t let you withdraw enough money. Your daily limit is Rs 10,000 and the hospital is asking for Rs 40,000. You will spend many hours arranging the required cash. For these hours, your family member hangs between life and death. Why would anyone want to be in such a scenario??

This is where a cashless health insurance policy comes in handy. Cashless health insurance is a service with which you can avoid such crises during medical emergencies. With a cashless health policy, all the medical bills are directly settled by the insurance company. You don’t have to run here and there in order to arrange money. As long as you are admitted to one of your insurer's network hospitals, you can avail cashless treatments.

Here are the benefits of cashless claims:

You don't need to depend on friends or relatives for money
No need to run for fund arrangement at the time of emergency
You don’t have to mortgage precious family assets for loans
Your other investments (like fixed deposits) do not need to be liquidated
You save on credit card debt with its high rate of interest

Important Points when Opting for Cashless Treatments

Inform the Insurance Company: If the hospitalization is planned, inform your health insurance company well in advance. Depending on your insurer, you need to do this 24 to 48 hours in advance.
Pre-Authorization Form: Fill the pre-authorization form carefully to help your case sail through easily.
Opt for Network Hospitals: You get cashless settlement only if you’re getting treatment from network hospitals mentioned in the insurance company's list.
Exclusions: Certain conditions are not covered under cashless hospitalization. Understand these exclusions before applying for a policy.
Cashless Health Card: After the policy is issued to you, you get a Cashless Health Card that carries all the information about your policy. You must keep a copy with you at all times.
Maintain Proper Documents: This might seem a tedious thing, especially when you and your caretakers are busy with the treatment and recovery. But having the documents ready before you start the claim process will ensure you have a hassle-free cashless settlement.