Buying a Health Insurance Policy? Know All About Network Hospitals
You cannot predict what’s coming your way. Road accidents or any other incidents that might cause serious injuries can happen without a warning. Moreover, increasing pollution levels and germs are causing infections and various other diseases and are major reasons behind people falling ill. To combat these and always be well-prepared for the worst situations, it is necessary to purchase a good health insurance plan.
You already might have expenses to take care of such as paying your electricity bills, grocery shopping, buying other necessary items, etc. If you get hospitalized, it puts a financial burden on the entire family. To combat this situation, you can go for a family floater health insurance. This plan covers all your family members under a single policy.
Your health insurance policy not only covers hospitalization charges but also ambulance charges, doctor’s fees, pre- and post-hospitalization charges, and many other small expenses. There are certain terms related to health insurance that you must be aware of such as the claim settlement, waiting period, cashless treatment, pre-existing diseases, etc. But the most important thing to consider while buying health insurance is network hospitals.
Let us know more about network hospitals and their benefits.
While purchasing a health insurance policy, look for the number of network hospitals provided by your general insurance company. An insurer has tie-ups; if you get admitted in that particular hospital, then the claim will be settled between the insurer and the hospital and you won’t have to pay anything from your pocket.
But, if the network hospital is far from where you reside and you’re not able to make it to the network hospital, then you would get admitted somewhere else and pay for the treatment yourself. Later, you would provide the details of the non-network hospital along with the doctor’s details, bills, and documents regarding the treatment to the insurance provider and claim reimbursement. Therefore, always check if the network hospitals are close to where you live. If they’re far away, it will be of no use to you.
Also, check the list to see the number of network hospitals provided. The more network hospitals the better. A large network hospital means more options for you to choose from and they’re useful during emergencies.
Cashless option
If your policy includes network hospitals, you get to enjoy the cashless facility. As the name suggests, you have to pay no cash whatsoever. If you are in a hospital which is in the insurer’s network, the latter pays your medical bills directly. The treatment is carried in a hassle-free manner and you don’t have to worry about a thing. Also, the documents to be filled are less as compared to regular claims.
When you’re checking the list of network hospitals, see if they’re providing you with quality treatment and that the network is widespread. If you’re travelling and happen to fall sick far from your hometown, then your health insurance company’s hospital network must be large enough to provide coverage even then.
