Should you include Parents in Employee Health Insurance?

Rajesh (32-years-old) works in an MNC that offered Rajesh a corporate group health insurance plan when he joined the organization. Rajesh has already included his wife (as a dependent member) under his group insurance plan to get coverage and policy benefits. But, now Rajesh wants to add his parents (both are above 60 years) under his corporate group insurance plan to enhance their coverage and protection. Rajesh has a scant idea regarding this; he even doesn’t know whether he can add his parents to his group health policy or not. Here we are going to discuss how people like Rajesh can add their parents to their employee health insurance plans.

Corporate Group Health Insurance

These days, when joining an established organization, every employee gets welcomed with a corporate health insurance plan that offers added financial and health benefits to employees. This type of health insurance offers basic coverage for the employee, his wife, and his children.

Can we Add Parents under my Health Insurance?

A corporate group health insurance policy only offers coverage to your wife and children. There are some corporates that also offer group health insurance plans which include parents or parents-in-law. But if you want to include your parents under this plan, you may need to pay an additional premium from your pocket to enjoy the coverage benefits.

Who can be dependent on Health Insurance?

For a corporate group health insurance plan, your wife and children are your primary dependents. Therefore, they will be automatically covered by your group’s health insurance policy.

Benefits of including your parents in employer’s group health insurance policy

Corporate group health policy offers a plethora of benefits to employees. Every employee can add his/her family members (spouse, children, or even parents) to this plan. Some companies offer coverage for parents for free, while for others, by paying an additional premium, you can include your parents. Since healthcare costs thrive day by day, you must try to include your parents in your employee health insurance plan. Some of the prime benefits of including your parents under your corporate group insurance plan are,

• No Pre-Medical Check-up: There is no need for a pre-medical check-up for a corporate health insurance plan. This means none of your dependents (spouse, children, and parents) needs to undergo a medical check-up before enrolling with the policy. You and your dependents will be eligible for coverage from day one of the policy.
• Lower Premium: The premium for corporate health insurance is lower as compared to other health insurance plans. If you are adding your parents under this plan, your premiums will never burn your pocket. This means your parents will get adequate coverage at an affordable premium.
• No Need to Wait: There is no waiting period for a corporate health insurance plan. From day one, employees and their dependent members (including parents) are covered under this plan. Some companies also offer maternity coverage to their female employees without any waiting period.
• Coverage against Pre-Existing Diseases: Since there is no waiting period, hence the policy covers all pre-existing diseases from day one. If your parents are suffering from pre-existing medical conditions like heart ailment, diabetes, etc., then all such conditions are covered from day one of the policy. Your parents can go for treatment of pre-existing diseases and initiate a claim against this plan.
• Top-Up or Super Top-Up Feature: A corporate health insurance plan offers coverage for a small amount. This means your sum insured amount may not be sufficient for all your healthcare needs. But by opting for a top-up or super top-up plan, you can enhance the sum insured amount. You need to pay this additional premium from your pocket. If the claim amount surpasses the total sum insured, then this top-up or super top-up benefit will pay your additional claim amount.
• Cashless provision: A corporate health insurance policy will allow your parents to enjoy a cashless treatment facility at network hospitals in India.

Disadvantages of including your Parents under the corporate Health Insurance Plan

Though a corporate group health insurance offers a spectrum of benefits, it still has some limitations that you must be aware of. So here, we are mentioning some disadvantages that you should remember before enrolling your parents under this plan.

• Coverage as per your employer’s discretion: Since employers offer corporate group health plans, hence the coverage and benefits are decided as per your employer’s discretion. The employer may lower the coverage benefits of the policy or even eliminate the benefit of adding your parents under this policy. So, don’t rely utterly on your corporate group health plan.
• The policy will discontinue if you change the job: Your corporate group, health insurance policy will become invalid once you leave the organization because this type of plan offers coverage only to their present employees. So, you will be left with no medical coverage until you join a new organization.
• Limited Coverage and High Frequency of Claims: Medical inflation is raising the cost of healthcare treatments, the coverage offered by a corporate group health policy is not adequate. If you include your parents under this policy, the claims could be on the higher side because they are more susceptible to various diseases. In addition, if you are raising multifarious claims in a year, other family members are left with a minimal sum insured unless you are paying an additional premium for top-up features.

Advantages and disadvantages of HMO vs PPO

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) restricts the coverage of patients to a particular group of physicians called a network. On the other hand, PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) permits patients to select any physician as per their wish (either outside or inside the network).

There are some advantages and limitations to corporate group health insurance plans when you are planning to add parents under this policy. But you should incorporate them into this plan, as these people are very delicate and demand intensive medical care and attention. With this skyrocketing cost of healthcare, adding your parents to the corporate group health insurance plan is the utmost option to avail of medical coverage for your parents.