How To Take Care Of The Health Of Your Ageing Parents

It is hard for most of us to accept that, one day our parents will not be as fit and healthy as they are today. This is why it is important to ensure a timely and good healthcare plan for our parents.
With the passing of the age, parents not only need more emotional support, but also frequent healthcare.  While the best way to care for them is to safeguard their health, one should always be prepared for an accident or unforeseen situation. At such a time you do not want to find yourself stuck in a chaotic situation where you are struggling between finding the right doctor and arranging for the medical bills. You need to have a health insurance for them so that you are not burdened with the regret that you could not arrange finances for them when they needed it the most.

Buy health insurance: 

In the current scenario, either employers provide coverage for parents under corporate health insurance plans or ask their employees to pay a certain amount for parental coverage. In such a scenario, it is better to have a separate health insurance for senior citizens.

To cover rising medical expenses, it’s better to have individual health insurance policies for them, than relying completely upon your corporate health insurance. According to an article in The Hindu, inflation in the healthcare sector is increasing in double digits (12-15 percent) every year. With rising medical expenses, the only way to ensure proper healthcare for your parents is by providing them coverage under health insurance for senior citizens. Emergency healthcare situations can be dealt with better financial support if you have taken health insurance for them.

Health insurance for senior citizens allows them to avail of the best healthcare treatment without making a dent in their savings meant to make the post-retirement life comfortable. If you buy the policy, you can avail tax benefits under section ’80D’ to save more money for their personal needs.

Top-up plans for an expanded health coverage:

If you have already made the smart move to ensure good health of your parents and other members of the family, then you can further expand the coverage with top-up plans. This is a privilege for those who have to meet frequent healthcare needs of their ageing parents. Also, elderly people are more likely to fall sick on a frequent basis, which may make a huge dent in your family health insurance.

If you have a family health insurance or health insurance for senior citizens for 5 lakhs with a top-up plans for Rs. 10 lakh and a deductible limit of Rs 5 lakhs, then a medical bill of 7 lakhs can be paid easily. Rs. 5 lakhs will be deducted from the original health insurance policy, and the remaining Rs. 2 lakh from the top-up policy.

Note: Top-up plans pay only when medical bills cross the deductible or threshold limit.

Create an emergency fund:

To avail the exclusive coverage under different types of health insurance for senior citizens, your parents need to go through a mandatory test that applies to everyone above the age of 45. If they are diagnosed with diabetes or some other diseases, then such ailments will not be covered under the health insurance. But, worry not! If you parents are hale and hearty, they are likely to be covered for most age-related diseases.

To cover up for diseases that get excluded after the mandatory medical test, you can create an emergency monetary fund. It’s good to have savings to meet unprecedented expenses. By creating an emergency fund, the emphasis should be more on liquidity and not on profits. This means you should put your money only in those investment options which offer easy liquidity. The emergency fund will ensure that the family has some backup when no other help is coming handy.

While taking every good care of your parents’ health, don’t forget to spend some quality time with them. Emotional support to your parents is as important as making arrangements for their comfortable life. Once they are happy and satisfied from inside, they are more likely to fight diseases like a warrior and live long.

Disclaimer: All information in this article has been provided by HDFC Ergo and NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the same.