Choosing the right health insurance policy is a smart move that gives you peace of mind and protects your family’s finances in case of medical emergencies. But before you sign up for a plan, make sure to read the fine print and understand the exclusions. This article will cover all the information you need to make an informed decision.
What are Exclusions in Health Insurance?
Exclusions refer to the list of medical items, treatments, pre-existing health conditions, or other situations that your policy would not cover. These exclusions limit the insurer’s liability in providing coverage for specific treatments or procedures.
Based on their nature, health insurance exclusions are categorised as follows:
- Permanent Exclusions: As the name suggests, these exclusions remain permanently out of the scope of policy coverage during the entire policy period. A few examples include infertility treatments, refractive eye surgeries, cosmetic surgeries, hearing aids, etc.
- Temporary exclusions: These exclusions may be covered after you have been continuously insured for a specified period (typically ranges from 30 days to 2 years), also known as the waiting period. Common temporary health insurance exclusions are pre-existing medical illnesses, specified diseases covered for initial years, etc.
Why Health Insurance Policies Have Exclusions?
Exclusions are included in policies to limit their financial risks. It helps them keep health insurance premiums affordable. Some prominent reasons for having exclusions are:
- Contain High Claim-Incurring Risks: By carefully managing coverage for high-risk treatments such as dialysis and mental health services, insurers can mitigate potential losses while maintaining sustainable coverage for essential healthcare needs.
- Ensure Affordable Premiums: Low medical inflation and affordable premiums can be maintained by excluding expensive treatments.
- Prevent Adverse Selection: Customers should not take insurance only when they have an existing condition requiring hospitalisation. Exclusions prevent this.
- Control Unnecessary Hospitalisation: Some customers tend to over utilise services once insured. Exclusions help to avoid bearing costs for unnecessary hospital stays.
Common Exclusions in Health Insurance Policies
Different health insurance plans have different rules about what they cover and what they don’t. However, there are some things that most insurance plans need to cover. Here are the 10 most common things that are not covered by most health insurance plans:
- Pre-existing Diseases (PED): Undoubtedly the most common exclusion, pre-existing diseases refer to any condition that the policyholder already has before purchasing the health cover. Based on policy terms, PEDs may be covered after a waiting period of 2-3 years.
- Initial Waiting Period: Most health plans have an initial waiting period of about 30 days, during which they do not pay for any hospitalisation. This prevents the misuse of fresh policies for already diagnosed conditions.
- Dental and Eye Care Treatments: In most cases, dental procedures such as tooth extraction, root canals, dentures, and orthodontic treatments are not covered by accident insurance.
- Cosmetic Surgery: Unless it is medically necessary after an accident, any cosmetic surgery or beauty treatment aimed at improving physical appearance is not covered.
- Infertility: Diagnostic tests and treatments undertaken specifically for infertility are excluded under most basic health plans.
- Addictions: Alcohol dependence, substance abuse, and associated health conditions do not fall within basic health insurance coverage.
- Hazardous Activities: Any accidental injuries arising due to participation in adventure sports, racing competitions, etc., may be excluded as per policy terms.
In addition to the above usual suspects, several other exclusions tag along:
Prominent Health Insurance Exclusion Clauses
Apart from the exclusions list, health plans also contain important exclusion clauses that policyholders must be aware of:
- Maternity & Childbirth: Maternity expenses like pregnancy checkups, delivery, and newborn care are often excluded from base plans. You might need a separate maternity add-on for coverage.
- Outpatient Department (OPD) Expenses: Costs associated with doctor consultations, diagnostic tests, and medicines for outpatient treatment might be excluded.
- Cosmetic Procedures: Procedures like plastic surgery, hair removal, or other cosmetic enhancements are generally not covered by health insurance.
- Self-inflicted Injuries: Injuries sustained due to attempted suicide, self-harm, or risky activities are often excluded.
- War & Nuclear Activities: Health insurance plans typically don’t cover medical expenses arising from war, terrorism, or nuclear incidents.
Analysing Policy Exclusions Before Buying
With exclusions limiting plan coverage in place, policyholders must consider the fine print thoroughly at the time of purchase to see what is and what is not covered in health insurance. Key aspects to review include:
- Directly listed permanent policy exclusions beyond waiting periods
- Applicable waiting period for covering pre-existing illnesses
- Conditional exclusions that may be covered case-based
- Disease-wise capping of claims
- Any co-payments applicable per claim
- Policy limitations related to room rent
To find the best health plan, compare exclusions and choose add-ons to fill gaps. Let’s say you need vision care, but the base plan excludes it. This creates a gap in your coverage. You can then choose a vision add-on plan to fill that gap and ensure your eyes are covered. Renew on time to keep pre-existing conditions covered.
Conclusion
While exclusions restrict health policy coverage to an extent, they create affordable premiums. For policyholders, exclusions should not become ‘deal breakers’ if the plan continues covering key hospitalisation eventualities and major illnesses. But at the same time, understanding exclusions sets pragmatic expectations of what medical expenses would get reimbursed. Hence, analysing policy fine print around exclusions, caps, waiting periods, etc., is invaluable. It empowers you to find and continue with plans that provide adequate protection against financially draining hospital bills.
