Medical insurance or health insurance is a form of financial protection against high medical bills for the policyholder and his or her family. It is typically based on a payment system where the policyholder pays a monthly premium and in exchange, the insurer agrees to cover certain costs in the event of a medical emergency or accident. The specifics of what is covered and how much the policyholder pays via deductibles, coinsurance and/or copays vary by plan.
Purchasing the right type of coverage is critical to your overall financial wellbeing and health. There are many different types of coverage available in the market including mediclaim, hospitalisation and critical illness plans. You should always choose a plan with low premium rate and maximum coverage benefits. It is also recommended to opt for a plan which does not have any sub-limits on rooms rent, ICU room rent or AYUSH coverage as these can increase your out of pocket expenses.
Finding: The evidence indicates that having health insurance is associated with better outcomes for a wide range of medical conditions. In general, adults who are uninsured die at higher rates and experience more declines in health status over time than do those who have continuous health insurance coverage. These findings are generally stronger for studies that include only those who actually show up for care and for studies that use evidence-based criteria for judging appropriateness of care.
Health insurance also reduces disparities in access to care for members of racial and ethnic minority groups. For example, having health insurance makes it more likely that individuals with acute coronary syndrome will receive angiography and revascularization procedures to prevent a heart attack. It also makes it more likely that patients will receive a diagnosis and treatment of acute myocardial infarction, a life-threatening condition.
Having health insurance is also associated with greater receipt of cancer screening services, which can often lead to early-stage diagnoses and improved survival for people with the disease. In contrast, adults who are uninsured are less likely to be screened and are more likely to have late-stage diagnoses of cancer.
Another study that took advantage of a natural experiment followed matched cohorts of adults seen in an internal medicine clinic who maintained or lost their Medicaid coverage. The results showed that those who lost their insurance experienced more rapid declines in perceived health and blood pressure control than did those who maintained their coverage. These findings were consistent with those of other studies.