Manage medical treatment costs and your health insurance sensibly

Majority of us have realised the importance of a comprehensive health insurance policy to keep our health and finances protected. Covid-19 has increased the awareness and there has been a rise in the number of health insurance policies sold in the past few months. Yearly inflation in medical care has always been in the range of 18-20%.

It was not long ago that the masses went to a trusted general physician (whom we called family doctor) in neighbourhood for consultation and to a nursing home (generally owned by a good doctor) or a small hospital in their vicinity for maternity and any treatment that required hospitalisation. Visiting a good charitable hospital or a government hospital was not uncommon for any specialised treatment or surgery.

In recent years, the popularity of neighbourhood GP and primary health centres have been going down while that of large corporate hospitals has been increasing.

Even for minor ailments people prefer to visit a specialist in a large hospital. These hospitals are managed like five star hotels. They make huge investments in technology, equipment, facilities and infrastructure and empanel the best doctors and staff. Like any other private enterprise, these hospitals are driven by profits as loans are to be paid back, high interest to be paid and investors want to have good return on their investment. It is not surprising that a sharp profit driven mind set and unregulated health sector has seen health care costs soaring high year on year.

The question arises: Will a common person be able to afford these expensive hospitals? Will your insurance cover be adequate in coming years? What if your health cover is exhausted if you take treatment from one of these large hospitals for a serious illness? When it comes to health, there is very little room to compromise. an emergency situation there is not enough time to think and decide. But are there any affordable options if you want quality health care and treatment?

If you do a little research, you will find that there are reputed mid-sized hospitals and hospitals attached to teaching medical colleges (for instance, AIIMS) that charge much lesser for similar treatment or diagnostic tests. You may also have good doctors visiting here too. Do a price quality comparison, check for online feedback and people who have used their services to arrive at a decision. It may save you a lot of money.

For those who do not have any insurance cover and are constrained financially, one can look at well managed charitable hospitals that provide medical treatment at nominal cost, e.g. hospital located at Bala Sahib Gurudwara at Sarai Kale Khan ,Ring Road, New Delhi ( inaugurated in March 2021) provides MRI at Rs 50 compared to Rs 8000 which might be payable in private diagnostic labs located all over the city.

A bypass surgery may cost upwards of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in a good private hospital but it can be done at other equally competent hospitals at much lower cost. For example, at CMC Vellore, one of the well reputed hospital in South India, the bypass surgery will cost half of what is being charged in private hospitals in Metro cities.

Narayana Hospital in Bengaluru also offers world-class heart surgery at much lower cost. Compared to North India most hospitals in South India offer affordable, quality medical treatment and best care under competent staff and doctors. Another example is knee replacement surgery performed at Dr Vikram Shah’s hospital in Ahmedabad, where costs are much lower compared to average cost at other hospitals in the country. We have come across families travelling from Kolkata travelling to Ahmedabad for this surgery .

Other large expense being paid by all is on recurring monthly medicine bills. It can be an added burden, especially for senior citizens. The medicine expense can be definitely cut marginally by purchasing medicines from a single reliable chemist in your area. Most chemists offer discounts of 10-20% to their regular and loyal customers. Instead of buying medicines from different pharmacies every time and paying MRP printed price, you can consolidate your monthly purchase from a single pharmacy.

Online pharmacies also offer discounts for medicines purchased above a certain amount. It makes sense to gather information and stick to one chemist to save some cost.

(The writer is director and founder of RIA Insurance Brokers. Views expressed are personal)