Individuals should look for a health insurance cover which offers domiciliary hospitalisation benefit or take it as a rider to ensure comprehensive coverage. It provides coverage for medical treatment at home, ensuring comfort for the insured unable to be hospitalised.
This type of coverage is useful in situations where the insured is not able to get hospitalised due to non-availability of hospital beds or specific medical equipment. Domiciliary hospitalisation covers the treatment costs incurred at home when continuous hospitalisation is not possible. It offers convenience for patients needing medical attention without intensive care.
Reduces financial burden
Such a coverage reduces the financial burden by covering expenses like doctor’s visits and nursing care at home. Including domiciliary hospitalisation in a health insurance policy ensures comprehensive coverage for both hospital and home-based treatment, enhancing overall healthcare experience and financial security. This benefit ensures that the policyholder’s treatment expenses are covered under their health insurance policy. However, home care treatment is not covered by default in every health insurance policy. So, if the insured’s existing policy does not cover domiciliary hospitalisation, then he can port it to a new policy that has this feature.
Rakesh Goyal, director, Probus Insurance Broker, says domiciliary hospitalisation coverage can typically be added to an existing floater health insurance policy as a rider or as an optional add-on benefit. “This allows individuals to customise their health insurance coverage according to their specific needs and preferences.”
Domiciliary hospitalisation coverage is a part of the base plan these days in all the new and upcoming health policies. Siddharth Singhal, business head, Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com, says it can be included in some of the existing floater health insurance policies, thus eliminating the need for a separate policy. “It is advisable to select a comprehensive health insurance plan that covers all your medical insurance needs without you having to worry about financing sudden medical expenses.”
Pricing of the policy
Since the domiciliary hospitalisation benefit is part of the comprehensive plan, the customer does not need to pay anything extra. It covers doctor consultation fees, nursing charges, the cost of medical equipment and medication costs. Key exclusions may include pre-existing conditions, non-allopathic treatments, self-inflicted injuries, and certain elective procedures.
To avail domiciliary treatments, the insured will have to be on a home based treatment for atleast three days. Individuals must check the waiting period associated with domiciliary treatment before buying such a cover. The insured cannot file any claims for domiciliary hospitalisation during the waiting period, which varies between insurance companies.
“The policyholder must have the recommendation for domiciliary treatment by the treating doctor either in case the patient is immobile or the hospital lacks the bed/infrastructure, thus making home hospitalisation as the only option,” says Singhal.