Health

Can An HIV Patient Get Medical Insurance?

After a certain age, we all develop some kind of health problems. It can be because of our genetics or the lifestyle that we choose. However, in either case, we may need to visit the doctor. And if it is something like diabetes, then the doctor consultation becomes even more frequent. Along with taking appointments with the doctor, we also end up paying a lot of money as fees. Although we cannot skip on the doctor consultation part, we can at least try to save some money on the consultation fee. Wondering how? Well, by just buying a health insurance policy that is suitable for you and your family.

Health insurance policies more or less provide coverage for all kinds of illnesses. How about HIV? Well, sad but true, there is hardly any health insurance policy in India that provides coverage for HIV/AIDS. Well, do not be disheartened. There is one health insurance company called Star Health Insurance India which offers Star Net Plus. As a matter of fact, this is the only health insurance for HIV patients in the country as of now.

Eligibility criteria for HIV health insurance plan

This policy is for people who have already been diagnosed with HIV but have not reached the stage of AIDS yet. An HIV+ patient whose CD4 count is more than 500 as per the test reports and who is not older than 45 days is eligible for it. The person’s insurance case also has to be proposed by the Government, Agencies, NGOs that are working in the field of helping HIV+/AIDS patients. Now a days rapid hiv test kit is available to test if a person is HIV positive or not.

Features of HIV health insurance plans

Star Net Plus is unique since it comes with two types of coverage. The first coverage is like a critical care policy specific to AIDS, while the second one is much like the standard Mediclaim policy.

Therefore, under the first section, if an HIV+ patient is diagnosed with AIDS, the amount of sum insured will be paid out as a lump sum. There is no need of submitting bills, and the reimbursement option is there.

Sum insured in the policy

The sum insured offered under this health insurance policy is divided into 2 parts. The first part is offered in a lump sum amount, while the second part is for regular health costs. You can find four options that start with a minimum sum insured of INR 15,000 which goes up to a sum insured of INR 1 lakh. However, INR 50,000 is the maximum payable lump sum amount if AIDS has been diagnosed, and another INR 50,000 is for regular coverage.

Other benefits of the policy

This policy is partially mediclaim in nature, it also offers standard coverage and benefits which include:

  • Emergency ambulance
  • Expenses of treatment and supplies for qualifying daycare and in-patient hospitalization
  • Surgeon and specialist fees
  • Room charges
  • Pre/Post-hospitalization
  • Pre-defined Modern treatments
  • AYUSH treatments

Pre-existing diseases

For the part of the policy that is mediclaim, pre-existing illness clauses and other exclusions, as well as waiting periods, are applicable

Sub-limits of the policy

Like many other mediclaim plans, this plan also comes with sub-limits for medical costs, and the total cost is limited tothe sum insured for the mediclaim part of the policy. Even if you have diagnosed with HIV lately, you do not have to worry about the medical bills. This can all be taken care of if you buy this health insurance policy. To find out more information about the policy, you can visit the website of IIFL at your convenience. And as you visit the IIFL website, you can also find the premium that has to be paid for the policy by using the health insurance premium calculator.

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