It is natural for health problems to increase with increasing age. In such a situation, health insurance becomes an extremely important support for senior citizens. Medical expenses are increasing rapidly every year and the cost of treatment can sometimes overshadow the income. Therefore, choosing the right health insurance plan provides financial and mental security for the elderly.

Health insurance plans for senior citizens are specially designed to take care of age-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and other serious conditions. These plans include hospitalization expenses, day-care procedures, pre and post hospitalization expenses, ambulance fees and sometimes annual health checkups.

Some policies have a short waiting period for the cover of pre-existing diseases, so that the elderly can quickly avail the full benefit of insurance. Also, many plans also provide cashless hospitalization facility, so that there is no worry about money at the time of hospitalization.

Although the premium amount may be a little higher, this investment proves to be very beneficial compared to insurance protection. Apart from this, tax exemption is also available on the premium under section 80D of Income Tax, which provides an opportunity for additional savings.

Key features of senior citizen health insurance plans :

• Treatment of diseases that come with increasing age such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis etc. is specially covered.

• Pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenses are available, so that expenses before and after treatment are also included in the insurance.

• Cashless hospitalization facility is available, so that one does not have to worry about money at the time of hospitalization.

• In many plans, the option of short waiting period is available for the cover of pre-existing diseases.

• The facility of annual health checkup is also included in some policies.

• Insurance cover for ambulance charges is also available in case of hospitalization.

• The option of additional security cover for critical illnesses is also given in many plans.

• Lifetime renewal facility is available, so that the benefits of insurance can be availed even at an old age.

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