Types of Health Insurance Plans for Cancer Patients

Everyone dreads receiving a cancer diagnosis. A recent study showed that Indians suffering from cancer will increase to a minimum of 29.8 million by 2025. With that in mind, it’s crucial to choose health insurance with cancer cover. Since this report also shows that about 26.7 million people in India are already suffering from this dreaded disease, there’s no time like the present to invest in critical illness coverage.

Health Insurance with Cancer Cover

Overview

It’s no secret that India currently has one of the highest incidents of cancer globally. Medical experts fault late detection as the top reason for minimal survival rates. The top cancers in India are:

• Lung
• Cervical
• Breast
• Stomach
• Oral

That said, it’s no wonder that the top question many potential policyholders ask is, “Is cancer covered in health insurance?” The good news is that in many instances, you can opt for specific health insurance for cancer patients.

Why We Need Health Insurance with Cancer Cover

The most significant reason to invest in health insurance with cancer cover has to do with the cost of cancer treatment. Since the risk of getting cancer is so high and the treatment quite extensive, there’s almost no way the average person can afford the care out of pocket.
Additionally, many people are unable to work during the duration of their treatment. This means it can be quite difficult to support your family and earn a salary. It’s also important to understand the types of health insurance on offer.

Understanding the Costs of Cancer Care

What contributes to the cost of cancer care?

The cost of treating cancer is quite diverse. Some of the factors that help to understand the cost of medical treatment are discussed below.

The Type of Cancer Treatment You Receive

Not all cancer patients receive the same type of treatment. The type of treatment you receive will depend on the type of cancer you have. This can range from a short course of treatment to a more aggressive treatment that involves surgery or chemotherapy.

The Length of Treatment

In some instances, cancer can be detected early. When this happens, the length of treatment might be considerably shorter compared to a cancer type that has gone undetected. While it’s true that having regular medical checkups may detect cancer early enough, this is unfortunately not the case.

The Location of Treatment

Not all cancers can be treated at your local clinic or hospital. In some instances, patient’s need to travel to specialised clinics. Depending on the frequency of the treatment, the patient might have to temporarily relocate to the area as travel is too costly. This will definitely inflate the cost of medical treatment.

Your Specific Health Insurance Coverage

Not all medical plans feature insurance against cancer. This means that a cancer patient will have to pay a considerable chunk of the cost out of pocket if they don’t have additional funding to assist.

Whether You Have Supplemental Insurance

With the limitations of some insurance plans, many people opt to invest in another insurance plan such as a critical illness policy. Opting for critical illness insurance will help makes up the deficit on your existing insurance plan.

Hidden Costs of Cancer Care

In addition to the emotional effect the risk of getting cancer has on the average person, there’s also the stress of initial costs as well as potential hidden costs.

Medical Costs for Cancer Care

There are extensive costs for cancer care. These costs involve hospital treatment as well as any long-term costs. There’s often no way to determine these costs in advance because each patient’s response to treatment is different.

Doctor Appointment

Dealing with cancer involves many different doctor and specialist appointments. More aggressive types of cancers require more than one doctor or specialist. These costs also include regular medical check-ups to determine the success of the treatment.

Cancer Treatment

The type of treatment a cancer patient will receive depends on what stage the cancer has progressed to. This varies from stage 1 which is highly treatable to stage 4 which is in most cases considerably aggressive.

Medication

Cancer treatment comes with a very rigorous medication regime. Medications can range from simple pills to extensive in-hospital treatments such as courses of chemotherapy. This can be quite costly if your cancer treatment coverage doesn’t cover all these costs.

Caregiving – At-Home Care, Long-Term Care

While a considerable amount of in-hospital care takes place during most cancer treatments, many variants also require extensive home or even long-term care. In some instances, it might even be necessary to have a full-time nurse. It’s important to check your initial policy as many cancer health insurance plans might not include this type of treatment.

Non-Medical Costs for Cancer Care

Anyone who has ever had to deal with cancer, either as the patient or the caregiver, will know exactly why we need health insurance with cancer coverage. There are a considerable amount of costs that aren’t directly related to the actual illness but have more to do with taking care of the family and daily living costs. Some of these are mentioned below.

Transportation and Travel

More often than not, treatment doesn’t happen at the hospital closest to your home. In some cases, there’s extensive travel involved. This can be quite costly.

Family and Living Expenses

Many cancer sufferers are unable to work during their treatment as much of it requires hospitalisation. When the breadwinner of a family can’t work due to illness, this places undue stress on the family for regular living expenses.

Employment, Legal and Financial issues

When a cancer patient exceeds their allocated sick days at work, there could be employment issues. Which in turn leads to financial issues within the household. While some types of health insurance provide assistance with this, it isn’t common in all cases.

Other Costs

Aside from medication and specialised treatments, certain types of cancer might also require additional medical and non-medical items such as:

• Special foods (in the case of stomach or pancreas cancer)
• Wigs (In instances where chemotherapy is a form of treatment)
• Speciality bras (for breast cancer)

Categories of Health Insurance With Cancer Cover

1. Private Health Insurance

   Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs)

   Essentially, an HMO refers to a Health Maintenance Organisation is a type of insurance against cancer that provides the insured with top health services for a pre-determined premium. A network of registered practitioners make up these services.

   Preferred Provider Organisations (PPOs)

   For the most part, a PPO, or Preferred Provider Organisation is made up of medical professionals and facilities across India. This extensive network of medical practitioners is made up of primary and specialty doctors.

2. Savings Account

   Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

   An HSA, or Health Savings Account, makes it possible for the policyholder to put aside funds to cover any future cancer treatments of anyone covered in the policy.

   Flexible Savings Account (FSA)

   An FSA, or Flexible Savings Account, is a pre-determined agreement provided by an employer. This policy allows the policyholder to pay out-of-pocket for additional medical expenses.

3. Other Types of Health Insurance

   Supplementary insurance

   Opting for health insurances that cover cancer treatment, is an excellent way to supplement your existing insurance.

   Disability Insurance

   Disability insurance will cover costs if your cancer or subsequent surgeries leaves you temporarily or permanently disabled. This includes coverage if the patient is unable to work due to the treatment or disability.

   Hospital Indemnity Insurance

   A Hospital Indemnity Insurance coverage supplements the policyholder’s existing health insurance policy. Costs cover hospital stays and in some instances even pay out a cash amount to assist the family with additional costs.

   Long-Term Care Insurance

   As a critical illness policy, long-term insurance covers any long-term home or nursing home care. This care refers to both short and long-term care and includes instances where a patient will require a stay-in nurse.

5 Things to Consider When Looking for Cancer Cover in Health Insurance

1. Standalone Cancer Insurance v/s Regular Health Insurance
   A standalone Cancer Insurance is a cancer-specific insurance plan that provides coverage for all minor and major stages of a cancer diagnosis. Regular health insurance might not always have the same coverage.
   
   Lumpsum Payment v/s Reimbursement
   The question to ask here is whether or not the cancer treatment insurance coverage will pay out a lump sum payment or offer reimbursement. While a lump sum payment is a once-off, reimbursements happen as needed.
2. Types of Cancers Covered
   Ideally, you want a critical illness policy that covers all types of cancers because there’s no way to determine which cancer you may be most susceptible to. With the risk of cancer being possible at any age a more comprehensive cover is necessary.
3. Stages of Cancer Covered
   Unfortunately, there’s also no way of determining at what stage of illness a potential cancer diagnosis can be discovered. That said, you should always opt for health insurance for cancer patients that cover the illness through all its stages, no matter when it is discovered.
4. Limitation of Insurance Coverage and/or Benefit
   Quite possibly the first question you should ask is, “What does health insurance cover?” Knowing what benefits, limitations and exclusions are tied to your potential policy will ensure that you and your family are properly covered.

Tax Exclusions of Health Insurance

Fortunately, India’s tax law, Section 80D, makes provision for a wide variety of tax benefits based on the premium paid. Policyholders can deduct the amount of health insurance coverage as taxable income. It’s recommended to check the specified limits detailed in the act and also in your healthcare policy.

Conclusion

If you’re planning to invest in a medical policy, it’s always recommended to opt for health insurance with cancer cover. Taking the time to review various options will ensure that you and your family are adequately protected in the unfortunate event of a cancer diagnosis.