Health insurance plans for senior citizens: All you need to know

Senior citizens are more vulnerable to health risks and the rising medical expenses only add to the financial woes. Thus, an adequate health insurance policy for older people is a must to tackle medical emergencies efficiently.

A senior citizen health insurance policy is exclusively for those above 60 years of age. Here, the insurer pays for all medical expenses listed in the policy document.

Age is an important factor for buying as well as renewing any insurance products. While some insurers restrict the purchase of senior citizen policy if the insured has crossed the age of 80, some policies do not have any maximum entry age.

Moreover, some senior citizen health insurance policies allow renewal only up to the age of 80 while some don't have such caps. But it's important to be aware of the age criteria in advance to avoid any future shocks.

It's advisable to always pick a health insurance policy that offers the broadest coverage in terms of covering illnesses including critical diseases. This is because old age can invite absolutely any disease and one must be prepared for such surprises.

One must also check for exclusions of any pre-existing diseases while buying the insurance as senior citizens are bound to have many of those. An ideal cover must protect elders against such illnesses as well.

Health insurance policies usually have a waiting period for certain pre-existing diseases. Here, the policyholder must wait for the stipulated time before they become eligible to make a claim for pre-existing medical conditions.

As the chances of hospitalisation increase among senior citizens, it becomes crucial to compare various policies to pick the one with shortest waiting period. You should also check for sub-limit clause and pick a policy that offers maximum in-patient hospitalisation coverage.

Health insurance policies cover the cost incurred after being discharged from the hospital too. But these expenses must be due to the medical ailment that led to the hospitalisation in the first place.

Post-hospitalisation expenses are usually covered for an average 60-90 days but this period reduces drastically for senior citizen policies. Insurers put a cap on maximum post-hospitalisation expenses covered. Make sure to get clarity on this.

As senior citizens are much more vulnerable to diseases compared to the rest of us, insurers are bound to demand a hefty premium. The trick here is to compare various policies and pick the one that stands good on all key parameters that matter to you.