<div><em>Daily hospital cash plans may come handy in meeting non-admissible and incidental expenses incurred during hospitalisation, says <strong>Sunil Dhawan </strong></em></div><div> </div><div>The moment of truth in the business of insurance comes at the time of claim. For health insurance policyholders, the surprise could come when one is presented with the bill by the hospital. There could be a possibility that the insurer is not paying up for a portion of the bill even if it’s an admissible hospitalization according to their underwriting rules. This is because not all hospital expenses gets a clearance from insurer. As a policyholder, one might have to bear a certain portion of the bill. At times, policyholders are not ready for such out-of-pocket expense. </div><div> </div><div>What Mediclaim doesn’t pay up….: There are certain hospital expenses which are excluded and are termed as non-admissible in hospitalization policies. This is very much a part of the policy document that policyholders receive after buying a policy. Further, there could several incidental and out-of-pocket expenses that one might incur during the time when the person is hospitalized.</div><div> </div><div>…Get it from here: Here comes the role of a health insurance product which is different from what Mediclaim is and it’s called Daily Hospital Cash (DHC) plan. As the name goes a Daily Hospital Cash plan is a health insurance plan which provides claims on daily basis after one gets hospitalised. Unlike Mediclaim, in which claim is equal to the hospital bill, a DHC plan would merely look at the number of days of hospitalisation and pay up. There is no link or connection with the actual expenses on hospitalisation. And, you can use DHC to claim the amount in addition to your Mediclaim. </div><div> </div><div>One more plus: In addition to meting your incidentals expenses, DHC helps to keep your NCB intact too. Say, there's a 2-3 days of hospitalisation and the hospital bill is not a big amount. Using your health insurance to pay for it, will impact your no-claim bonus (NCB). In such a case, using the DHC plan will not only pay hospital bills but also keep your NCB safe. </div><div> </div><div>How much cover? Unlike choosing the sum assured in a Mediclaim, in DHC one has to choose the amount of daily benefit he wants. Most plans have Rs 500 / Rs1,000 / Rs1,500 / Rs 2,500 or Rs 3,000 benefit amount to choose from. One can buy it individually or for entire family members too. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Differentiation</strong></div><div>There are lots of differentiations and restrictions among DHC plans, which could be in terms of number of days of coverage or the maximum claim limit. Prefer buying it from your existing insurer. </div><div> </div><div>The end note: Under no circumstances, depend on DHC for your medical insurance needs. The individual health insurance policy or the family floater should be the first ring of defense against hospital bills as it is much more comprehensive. Once you have bought Mediclaim, get a critical illness cover especially if you are around age 40. Thereafter, one may consider buying DHC to cover the incidental out-of-pocket costs incurred during hospitalisation.</div><div> </div>
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