Personal experience - Medical Emergency

Personal experience why medical insurance is a must.

There is Mrs A I know. She looked quite healthy. One fine day, during one of the regular health checkups, she was diagnosed with Cancer of stage 3C. Result was "surgery + chemotherapy", which led to huge medical bills. Given Mrs A was a house wife through out and Mr A is a retired man, this bill would have been sufficient to take away all the savings of this elderly couple.

The couple had a son, who had medical insurance through the corporation he worked for. Parents were also included in this. Son filed the claim of the surgery to insurance company and after one month and two days, they got back their claimed money (minus some deductions of course).

Here anyone can be "A". Emergencies are Indian, they give no prior notice before arriving. So, please beware of them and prepare in advance. Please insure your family properly.

Medical Insurance

Today I visited someone close in hospital. She is undergoing knee surgery. I wish her all the best for her fast and safe recovery.

Visiting hospital always gets you into deep thought. It’s a traumatic experience for all, patients, relatives, and friends. It incurs deep problems, both emotional, and financial. It is one of those financial emergencies that occurs (most of the times) without any prior notice and has huge cost. Some of the regular steps that I take to cover and reduce my medical expenses include:

1) Have an yearly body checkup
2) Have an yearly dentist and eye specialist visit
3) Eat healthy diet
4) Have some kind of daily exercise, may be a small walk to market, or take stairs to work instead of lift.
5) Have a proper medical insurance

Steps 1- 4 are precautionary, they reduce my chances of some big medical trouble. Step 5 provides me a sense of security that if some emergency happens, there will be someone to partly take care of my expenses. The things that I keep in mind before choosing my insurance plan are:

1) Insurance costs a lot but having none costs more.
2) Right age to get yourself health insurance – As Early As Possible (ASAP).
3) Benefits and costs vary widely from plan to plan. If you have choices, you'll have to examine each one closely to find the best deal.
4) The cheapest plan is the one with the best price for the benefits you're most likely to use.
5) Most policies cover doctor visits, but benefits for mental health, prescription drugs and dental care are strictly optional.
6) The more flexibility you demand, the more you'll pay.

Choose your medical insurance plan properly, and at appropriate age and save yourself some big trouble at the already troubled time.