In order to interest people in buying a health insurance policy, many insurance companies offer free medical check up to their policy holders. In spite of such a great policy system, only 25% of them actually avail this opportunity. The reason for this really low number of active engagers of this facility is primarily because of two reasons. Many of the policy holders are completely unaware of this facility, which results in the medical tests from health policies being unused. On the other hand, some policyholders are aware of such a useful facility, but they fear that engaging in it may increase rates of the policy. This is absolutely untrue, as the premium rates will increase if and only if the policyholder increases the sum invested in the policy.
Facts about Free Medical Check Up
- Medical tests from health insurance are completely free and are available with your health insurance plans. The health insurance policy can be reviewed annually or after a few years, according to your plan preference.
- Policyholders with claims against their policy can avail this feature without any worries.
- There will be no increase in premium rates if the policyholder is diagnosed with health issues during the medical tests.
- When conducted at reputed empaneled centers, the test should not require any fee payment from policy holders availing this offer.
- You must go through your policy documents and understand if there are conditions of claims-free period to make yourself eligible for free medical check up.
What are the free medical tests available under your health policy?
There are several important free medical check up’s available for the policy holders to make use of. These are:
1. Echocardiogram:
This is a type of ultrasound test that uses high-pitched sound waves, uses the echoes of the sound waves that bounce off your heart to draw a picture of your heart.
2. Complete Blood Count:
CBC is a blood test that is used to check your overall health to determine disorders in your body. These disorders include anemia, blood infection and leukemia. They measure the count of red and white blood cells to determine blood health.
3. Fasting Blood Sugar:
This is a standard test to check the glucose levels in the body to detect diabetes. Diabetes can be connected to a number of diseases and therefore this is one useful test included in your health insurance plan.
4. Lipid Profile:
This is a test that is done to determine lipid abnormalities, such as rise of cholesterol levels and triglycerides. This important test has also been included in the medical tests for health insurance plans that you are entitled to.
5. Urine Analysis:
Urine analysis or Urinalysis is a test that uses your urine to determine presence of bacteria, ketones, glucose and proteins in your body. This is often neglected by a lot of policyholders but is just as important.
6. Chest X-ray:
This is a basic x-ray to check abnormalities in the lungs. The charges are fixed between the companies and the diagnostic centres so you do not have to worry about your expenses. The companies also provide a variety of packages for their policy holders for medical checkups according to price they included.
Availing your free medical tests from health insurance policy may look like a daunting task, but they are pretty easy to access to if proper steps are taken.
Contacting the insurance company:
Your insurer will provide a toll free number for you to contact them if the need arises. If the number is unknown to you, visiting the nearest branch of the company will also be a viable option. Your company will verify all the details, and only after thorough verification will they revert back with date, time and location confirmed, all to your preference. An authorization letter will be sent to the policyholder which needs to be presented at the testing center for free medical tests. It is advisable to request a network hospital whenever necessary so that the policyholder is not asked to pay anything extra as all charges have already been cleared up with the company.
Checking the cost of tests:
Not all diagnostic centers will provide the same charges, so you must carefully read and assess the document to know how much each center is asking for, and how much cost will be reimbursed by your insurer. Some insurers specify the tests they will be providing for instead of the amount, so going through your policy documents to avail your medical tests is important.
Know about Claim-free Years:
Most companies will provide the benefit of free medical check up only after a certain period of time for claim-free years. This could vary between 4-5 years, so it is necessary to keep a track of your claim-free years to avail free benefits.
Medical check-ups are a must to identify what is going on in your body; hence periodical medical tests must be taken seriously. Contact your medical policyholder today to claim your right to a healthy, disease free life.
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