Expert Zone
Straight from the Specialists
Taking health insurance for granted
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Chances are you haven’t given this much thought. It would be part of some document which you signed when you joined the company. For a majority of those in the corporate world, health insurance is provided by the employer — to such an extent that you take it for granted.
Let’s do a status check, especially for those in the 25 to 40 age group working in the private sector.
How many of your friends have shifted jobs or have been forced to look for another job in the last two years?
How many of you have seen health insurance benefits being slashed in the last couple of years by your company — for example, parents not being covered any more?
How many of you have been asked to contribute some part to the health insurance premiums which your company provides?
Chances are not just one of the above, but all three would have been experienced by a large number of employees.
Health insurance for people with HIV
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The insurance regulator recently floated a proposal which mandates all health insurance providers to put an underwriting policy in place for covering people with HIV or those working closely with HIV+ persons, such as doctors and nurses.
This will come as a relief for those affected or working in the field as chances are they would be refused a health insurance cover in the current scenario. Under normal circumstances, insurance companies would refuse outright to cover such individuals or exclude it as a pre-existing condition and not provide any benefits.
It will be interesting to gauge the insurance companies’ response to this as these plans might create a ‘bleeding’ scenario. Since the risk here is known and is no more left to chance or at least not completely, the usual models of underwriting many not work.
However, the proposal floated by IRDA is flexible and leaves it to the insurance companies to specify their underwriting norms and even to set the loading limits on such plans. The cover can also be offered by way of riders for those not affected at the time of taking the plan but having subsequently tested positive.
Currently, only Star Health, which is a standalone health insurance company, provides such a plan. In this plan, the proposal has to be initiated by government agencies or registered bodies which work closely in the field of HIV. This plan too is a restricted benefit policy with a low coverage amount.
The other problem will be to get such individuals to come forward and declare their status. Given the potential social stigma attached to it, many individuals would be extremely reluctant. The experience of Star Health Insurance Company which has run such programmes will come in handy and the industry will benefit from it.
How to age gracefully
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The title of this article may appear an oxymoron to a first-time reader. How can old age be associated with grace? No one likes to grow old and eventually die, despite this being an irreversible universal truth.
The topic becomes quite sensitive, can even lead to violence if posed directly to an elderly person — we will need to wait for Amitabh Bachchan’s response to the same in “Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap“.
Retirement from the productive stage of life is also a similarly inevitable process. Society — developed ones more so than developing — doesn’t look too kindly on this population. The perception of such people is usually negative. Call them a spent work force or a burden to the family or a drag on government healthcare funding — it isn’t a happy situation to be in.
“If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.”
Here are some rules which can help you age gracefully:
Rule 1: Understand and manage longevity risk better
