International Women’s Day: Why Women Need A Separate Health Coverage in India

There is a large disparity in the proportion of men and women who have health insurance coverage, if one looks at society, as a whole. When it comes to purchasing their own health insurance, women trail significantly behind. Currently, health insurance is the need of the hour and every woman needs it, regardless of her financial and social status.

Why Don’t Many Women Choose a Separate Health Coverage?

Their spouses have enrolled in a health plan that provides coverage for the entire family, and is a frequent factor in women’s decisions to forgo purchasing an individual health policy for themselves. A family floater plan is a smart choice but it might not always be enough. Women must be aware of their individual needs and choose to take a decision whether or not to purchase a health plan for themselves.

Another reason is that many women are already covered by their employer’s group health insurance and hence they are reluctant to get an individual policy for themselves. However, at times, if a claim for a group policy surpasses the cover amount, then she would need to pay the difference amount out of pocket. If one has an additional sum insured independent health insurance, she will not need to worry about future claims, as both policies will cover the costs. Also, if a woman loses her job, an independent health insurance plan would guarantee that all costs associated with unanticipated medical emergencies would be covered.

Women Have Special Needs

A survey shows that 46.6 per cent of all new mothers experience depletion in savings, as a result of maternity-related medical costs. And this is true for all women, not just those who depend on their husbands for money. According to 35 per cent of working women, the maternity benefits offered by their employer had unsatisfactory provisions.

In Tier-1 cities and metro areas of India, normal deliveries typically cost between Rs 45,000 to Rs 55,000 at private hospitals. While the price of a Caesarean section in a private hospital might vary from Rs 70,000 to Rs 2,00,000 depending on the severity of the complications. These numbers serve as a wakeup call for women, to buy a separate maternity cover for themselves. Usually, an individual maternity cover includes — delivery costs (normal or caesarean), ambulance charges, pre-hospitalisation expenses, post-hospitalisation expenses, and new born baby cover.

Women are also more likely to develop certain medical illnesses that are irrelevant to men, which is another reason why they require health insurance plans that are tailored specifically for them — for example, breast cancer, fallopian tube cancer, vaginal cancer to name a few. Several insurance companies have designed critical illness plans specifically for women, so it would be a great decision to take them into consideration.

Women need to think about buying health insurance, early in life to fight medical inflation. The earlier the insurance plan is, the waiting period is lesser and the premiums are also lower. Moreover, she can avail tax benefit of Rs 25,000 under Section 80(D) of the Income Tax Act.

While women today are taking independent decisions for their life, it is important that they also start planning for their investments independently. Society is moving towards gender equality with time, and decision-making is a significant part of gender equality. Women should become more and more conscious about their savings and investment and insurance should be a key focus area for the same.

(The author is associate director and business head at Elephant.in)

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