HEALTH INSURANCE FOR DISABLED PERSON

For a disabled person life is a great challenge. Everyday tasks are hard including the burden of finances. Not to forget the medical costs incurred on a regular basis.

Many insurers provide various insurance plans for disabled persons; lets look at the health insurance scenario for disabled persons in India.

The Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act, 1955 states that persons with disability of at least 40% impairment is considered disabled in India. If such person has more than one kind of disability, or more than 80% impairment, then they are to be considered severely disabled.

There are types of disability that are considered for health insurance:

Accidental Disability – Persons that are disabled due to certain accident or incident that causes total or partial, permanent or temporary disability. It may include breakage or loss of arms or legs, loss of eyesight or hearing and paralysis.

Congenital Disability – Persons that are disabled from birth either due to hereditary reasons or certain environmental conditions like heart conditions, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, down’s syndrome, or cerebral palsy fall under this category.

Mental Disability – Persons that are ill due to a mental disorder that affects mood, behaviour, thinking, and mental balance of an individual including disorders like depression, bipolar condition, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia or developmental disorders such as autism.

These disabilities can be covered through right health insurance plan. Only after comparing different plans from different insurers, you can choose the plan that best suits your condition and requirements.

Factors to consider when buying health insurance for disabled individuals

Always keep in mind some important points when buying health insurance for disabled individuals like;

Disclose full and correct information regarding the disability and any pre-existing conditions. If you fail to do so, it may affect your plan at the time of claims.

Make sure to have proper documentation of all the medical reports, and understanding of the level of disability or impairment. Proper tests and reports help insurer to decide whether to accept your insurance application or not.

Once you opt for a suitable health insurance plan, the insurer will determine a premium amount payable on the basis of the disability, age, family medical history and any other pre-existing conditions if any. Make sure you know the details of the premium amount payable on your chosen plan.

Health insurance plans for disabled persons has a benefit of tax under Section80U of the Income Tax Act in India. And section 80DD gives the family members a deduction on insurance premium amounts for dependent disabled persons.

The risk of disabled person’s condition is considered while accepting or rejecting an applicant’s proposal for health insurance. Even the earning capacity is checked to ensure they can regularly pay the premium amount on the health insurance plan availed.Generally, the documentation required for health insurance policies for disabled persons include proposal form, premium payment receipt, income certificate, and identity proof.

Government enabled health insurance plans for disabled persons

For disabled persons, government of India offers schemes like Nirmalya Health Insurance or Swavalamban Health Insurance that are allowed on the basis of current health status and income of the disabled persons.

Let’s compare these government enabled health insurance plans for disabled persons;

Health insurance plan	Eligibility	Coverage	Expenses limit	Premium	Additional information
NirmalyaHealth Insurance	No age limit	Approx 1 lacs Indian rupees	Hospitalization expenses – 70000 OPD expenses – 14500 Ongoing therapy – 10000 Alternative medicine – 4500 Transportation – 1000	Family income less than 15000 – Rs.250 Family income more than 15000 – Rs.500	Individuals need to enrol via National trust
Swavalamban Health Insurance	18-65 years	Approx 3 lacs per annum	Approx 2 lacs	3100 per annum	People covered include disabled person, spouse and two children

A suitable health insurance plan ensures all the financial and medical needs of disabled individuals. Choosing the right plan helps to get the right cover and meet your requirements suitably.

 

FAQs – Frequently asked questions.

Let's take a look at some frequent queries on Health Insurance for Disabled Person

Q1. Is any test required for availing government health insurance plan?

No, for any government health insurance plan no pre-insurance tests are needed. All individuals can enrol with the National trust to avail such insurance policy.

Q2. Are government health insurance plans available across entire India?

Yes, except for Jammu and Kashmir, government enabled health insurance plans are available for disabled persons across India.

Q3. Do government health insurance plans cover family as well?

Yes, the Swavalamban Health Insurance plan offers cover to disabled person as well as family.

Q4. Is tax benefit available on government enabled health insurance plans?

Yes, to avail tax benefit on government enabled health insurance plans you need to submit medical certificates on type and extent of disability, relevant tax forms, details of expenses incurred on medical treatment and premium payment receipts.