Current scenario and issues in health insurance
In the current scenario of increasing number of diseases and health aids problems, mediclaim/ health insurance acts as a protector of atleast the financial problems that arises because of them.
With the modern life being so fast and stressful, it is in fact no surprise that 'Healthcare' has become overtly expensive with the average growth in cost of health treatment increasing at 7.5 per cent per annum, far ahead of the inflation rate.
Given these facts, a basic hospital room rental of Rs 500 as of today, in 15 years, would cost Rs 1,479. Similarly, an operation that costs Rs 5 lakhs today would cost Rs 14.8 lakhs in 15 years. Increase in mortality rates and hospitalisation cost at around 7.5 per cent per annum requires that your health insurance is planned.
Further, cost escalates as we reach retirement, and the chances of health hazards are higher at that stage of life. If medical costs are unplanned or inadequately planned, you could well erode your retirement corpus.
Currently, in India only 2 million people (0.2% of total population of 1 billion), are covered under Mediclaim, whereas in developed nations like USA about 75% of the total population are covered under some insurance scheme. With more and more private players in the sector this scenario may change at a rapid pace.
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