Health cover: Seniors may get more sops

MUMBAI:
Senior citizens, who are shown the door during renewal of wellness coverage and
face high insurance premiums that are loaded without any further taxation benefits, may have
reasons to cheer. Senior
Citizen Health Insurance committee, headed by National Housing Depository Financial Institution ex-chairman
K Second Sastry, in its recommendations, have suggested that senior citizens be given
a 200% taxation tax deduction on the coverage premiums paid towards wellness insurance. Sources said
the blessing of the coverage regulator and finance ministry is
awaited. Currently, under
section 80D of the Income-Tax Act, a citizen at 65 or above tin claim a tax
deduction for mediclaim insurance premium up to Rs 20,000. This agency that if a senior
citizen purchases a wellness coverage screen with a insurance premium of Rs 20,000, he/she can
deduct Rs 20,000 from his/her income before arriving at his/her nonexempt income. In the new recommendations
being made, beginnings said that the thought is to let for a 200% deduction, i.e. on
a insurance premium paid of Rs 20,000 (assuming that the full benefit is utilised), the
deduction on income allowed will be Rs 40,000. Sources added that this was
being recommended to promote senior citizens to purchase adequate screen for
themselves. Industry beginnings added that currently a negligible proportionality of
population that are senior citizens are covered adequately by health
insurance. On merchandise design,
the commission is looking at devising screens starting at sum of money assured of Rs 1 lakh
going up to Rs 5 lakh. ‘‘We desire to guarantee that this age grouping gets
adequate screen for their lower limit wellness needs,’’ said an industry
source. A few populace sector
general coverage companies like New Republic Of India Assurance and National Insurance have
designed senior citizen wellness covers where the sum of money assured is Rs 1 hundred thousand or Rs
1.5 lakh. However, given the
increasing wellness costs and the cost of treatments for complaints that afflict the
aged, consumer groupings experience that this screen is not adequate. The commission is also
recommending that renewals of wellness coverage policies (which are annual
contracts) are more than or less bonded irrespective of the claim made in a year. The lone exclusions are likely to be in the lawsuit of terminally sick patients. Health coverage for senior
citizens have got go a cardinal issue for the regulator given the fact that in recent
times, coverage companies have either been refusing to renew existent screens or
are loading the existent insurance premiums with further complaints of 100%-400% on a case
to lawsuit basis. Agents too have
been discouraged from authorship this concern as companies have got got reduced commission
from renewal and new policies for the age of 55 and above. The senior citizens
health coverage commission is looking at making wellness coverage low-cost and
accessible which intends that even people at the age of 65 can come in into a health
insurance contract.