Your heart is the most important organ in your body apart from your brain. The heart is also prone to multiple threats and risk. Blood pressure, hypertension, blockage, cholesterol, etc. all target your heart and pose serious threat to your life. If you are a heart patient, having a health insurance plan covering your heart-related complications from Day 1 is impossible.
Your heart related complications are considered to be pre-existing illnesses. These complications are, thus, excluded from the scope of coverage for the first few years ranging from 1 year to 4 years.
But, do medical contingencies wait for the waiting period to end?
They don’t and so you need a health plan which would provide coverage for your cardiac conditions sooner. Cardiac specific health insurance plans are available in the insurance market. These plans address the needs of cardiac patients and provide them good coverage despite their heart conditions.
Health insurance plans for cardiac patients
A handful of health plans are available for cardiac patients called cardiac-specific health plans. These plans cover individuals who are either already suffering from known cardiac ailments or have undergone acardiac surgery/treatments in the past. Let us understand the features of health plans designed for heart attack patients.
Salient features of Cardiac Care Insurance Policy
Cardiac specific plans are offered by life insurance companies as well as health insurance companies.
Some health insurance for heart patientscovers only individuals while others cover the spouse too under the scope of coverage.
There is, usually, a restriction on the Sum Insured granted by these plans.
Pre-entrance medical tests of the insured are, usually, insisted on before the cardiac cared health policy is issued.
The premiums paid under the plan qualify for tax exemption under Section 80D. For individuals below 60 years of age the maximum allowable deduction is Rs.25, 000 and for individuals aged 60 years and above (senior citizens), the maximum allowable deduction limit is Rs.30, 000.
Besides covering heart related health contingencies, the usual coverage features of a cardiac care insurance policy include coverage for pre and post hospitalization, ambulance expenses, day care procedures, etc.
If issued by life insurance companies, cardiac specific plans have a longer tenure compared to those issued by health insurance companies. Under health insurance plan offerings, the coverage can be taken for 1, 2 or 3 years.
These plans have a low or no waiting period for covering cardiac related complications
Some popular health plans for heart attack patients
Star Cardiac Care Health Plan
The plan covers patients who have undertaken cardiac related surgeries in the past. The salient features of a health insurance for heart patients include the following:
Outpatient benefit, personal accident cover, day care procedures are additional coverage features besides cardiac cover.
No pre-entrance medical check-ups are required.
Lifelong renewability
Sum Insured of Rs.3 lakhs and Rs.4 lakhs
Aviva Heart Care Plan
This health insurance plan for heart patients comes in 4 variants and has the following features:
Coverage for individual and also for spouse (optional)
19 heart conditions are covered
Multiple claims can be made in the policy year
Premiums are waived after first claim