Top Health Insurance Plans Offering OPD Cover in India
A lot of visits to the hospital don’t necessarily end up with admits. A lot of medical care can take place in the OPD or Out Patient Department. Unless there are major surgeries or ailments that need prolonged attention, OPD can suffice quite some medical visits.
While one would expect the OPD expenses to be a considerable amount, the statistics can provide some shocking insights. As much as 62% of all the medical expenses are related to OPD. If you have a health insurance plan that does not offer OPD cover, you are looking at potentially hefty medical bills.
What is OPD Treatment?
OPD or Out Patient Department provides medical care and attention to most of the basic cases. A doctor usually does the treatment and any diagnosis related to it. You can either visit a clinic and receive OPD treatment or visit the OPD department of a large hospital.
In either case, a patient is not admitted to the hospital or clinic. Some common examples of OPD treatment include dental treatment, minor surgeries, doctor’s consultation, and fractures. All these conditions require treatment of a few hours, and the patient can leave soon after.
However, one should not just look at the short duration spent in the hospital or clinic. The OPD expenses can easily unsettle your finances. Health insurance with OPD cover can offer you adequate coverage for OPD treatment.
Features of OPD Cover
Before you opt for an OPD cover, here are some of the salient features that you should be aware of.
- OPD coverage allows you prevention illness and easy vaccinations.
- OPD cover allows patients to recognise any health related issue at an early age.
- OPD cover ensures that you have access to the best medical experts.
- OPD cover provides you with a first contact point for any medical needs.
Benefits of OPD Cover in India
Should you opt for health insurance with OPD, the following benefits are yours for the taking.
- When you compare with in-patient hospitalisation, OPD cover will help you save money.
- You get access to a wide range of medicines and specialists.
- It offers coverage for any accident-related emergencies.
- The plan comes in handy for any minor injuries.
- The plan has your back during OPD visits for any pre-existing disease or chronic ailments.
- You can opt for a family floater plan so that everyone in the family has adequate coverage.
- The plan is more than useful for people who frequently visit the OPD for treatment.
- Most importantly, you do not have to pay for OPD expenses out of your pockets.
Top 5 Health Insurance Plans Offering OPD Cover in India
If you are looking for health insurance with OPD, here are the top plans in the country to choose from.
- Apollo Munich Maxima: The minimum age to buy Apollo Munich Maxima health insurance plan is 91 days and the maximum entry age stands at 65 years. The plan offers coverage for day care expenses. You can avail of cashless benefits as well. It is ideal for dental care, optical care, diagnostic tests, etc. The plan also covers pre and post hospitalisation charges, in-patient expenses, maternity expenses, etc. You can visit network hospitals to avail of complimentary check-ups.
- ICICI Lombard Complete Health Insurance: The ICICI Lombard Complete health insurance is ideal for someone looking for a family floater plan. Some unique features of the plan include no need for health check-up of individuals up to 45 years, no room rent limit, no co-pay and complementary health check-ups twice a year. The plan gives you the flexibility to choose from critical illness cover, maternity cover, OPD cover, donor expenses cover, etc.
- Max Bupa Heartbeat: Max Bupa Heartbeat is a comprehensive plan that you can opt for yourself or as a family floater plan. The plan is rich in features such as no limit on rent, OPD treatment reimbursement, maternity cover, loyalty bonus, etc. You can opt for coverage starting at INR 5 lakhs.
- Manipal Cigna Lifetime Health: Manipal Cigna lifetime health plan offers an impressive coverage up to INR 3 Crore for both domestic and international coverage. The plan does not have any caps on room rent for global coverage, provides sufficient coverage for in-patient expenses, unlimited restoration of the sum insured limit.
- Bajaj Allianz Tax Gain Plan: Bajaj Allianz tax gain plan offers coverage for hospitalisation as well as OPD expenses. The plan also offers services such as cashless facility, personalised service for senior citizens, waiver of co-payment, ambulance cover, etc. The plan offers attractive premiums starting at INR 5000.
All the health insurance plans mentioned above offer tax benefits under Section 80D. The premiums that you pay against the policy will help you reduce your taxable income. OPD cover along with other benefits make these plans easy to choose from.
