Annual Medical Check-ups in Health Insurance: All You Need to Know

What are Annual Health Check-ups in Health Insurance?

Annual health check-ups are a benefit provided under several health insurance plans where the insured becomes eligible for a free medical check-up every year. The medical check-up helps the insured to evaluate his/her current medical condition every year and check if he/she is at the risk of contracting a disease. It conducts complete body analysis that includes heart health, organ health, metabolism rate, etc.

Medical check-ups also monitor various critical parameters in a person, such as blood sugar levels, blood pressure, etc. They also help the doctor to suggest preventive measures to the insured in order to lead a healthy lifestyle.

List of Medical Tests Covered in the Annual Health Check-up Facility

Some of the most common tests covered by free annual health check-ups under health insurance are:

• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• Blood sugar test
• Blood pressure test
• General physical examination
• Urine test
• Kidney function test
• Lipid profile
• Tests for vitamin deficiencies
• Liver function test
• Lung function test
• X-ray
• ECG
• Sonography
• Pap smear

Benefits of Buying Health Insurance with Annual Health Check-ups

Take a look at some of the key benefits of buying a health insurance policy with an annual health check-up facility:

• Keeps a Track on Health – Free annual health check-up in health insurance enables people to monitor their overall health regularly. It assesses the functioning of different organs periodically and thus, helps to keep a track of a person’s health.
• Early Disease Diagnosis – One of the primary importance of annual health check-ups is that it helps in the early diagnosis of a disease. Thus, it enables the patient to control the spread of the disease at a nascent stage by starting the treatment at the right time.
• Helps to Lead a Healthy Life – With annual health check-ups, the insured is aware of the present condition of his/her body. This makes it easier for him/her to take conscious steps to stay fit and lead a healthy life, thereby, improving the status of underlying health conditions.
• Saves Money – Buying a mediclaim policy with free annual health check-ups enables the insured to save money in the long run. To begin with, he/she can get a health check-up done for free. Also, with an early diagnosis of the disease, it can be controlled on time and thus, expensive surgeries and therapies can be avoided.

Is Annual Medical Check-up Facility Available Under All Health Insurance Plans?

No.

Not every health insurance plan offers a health check-up facility every year. While a few plans may not offer this facility at all, some plans may provide the preventive health check-up facility after every two, three or four years. Besides, most plans provide this facility only after a pre-specified period of claim-free years. For example, some plans may offer free health check-up facility after every 3 consecutive claim-free years.

Therefore, it is important to check the terms and conditions of preventive health check-up facilities before buying a policy.

Factors to Consider While Buying Health Insurance with Annual Health Check-ups

Check out a few essential factors to consider while buying a health insurance plan with an annual health check-up facility:

• Frequency of Health Check-up – Before buying a health policy with a medical check-up facility, check how often the facility will be available. Check if the facility is available every year or after every two or three years.
• No Claim Clause – Several health plans cover the cost of medical check-ups only after a pre-specified number of claim-free years. Therefore, before buying a policy, make sure to check if the availability of a health check-up facility depends on not raising a claim or not.
• Cashless Facility – Most health insurance companies will offer annual health check-up facilities on a cashless basis only if the tests are conducted at one of their network hospitals. Therefore, make sure to check if the policy offers medical check-up facilities only at network hospitals or non-network hospitals as well.
• Medical Tests Covered – Before opting for an annual health check-up covered by insurance, check the list of medical tests covered. If the policy does not cover essential medical tests, there is no point in buying it.
• Tests vis-à-vis Sum Insured – Under most health plans, the number of tests covered in annual health check-ups depends on the sum insured opted by the policyholder. Usually, the higher is the sum insured, the more is the number of tests included. Hence, check if the policy covers medical tests based on the sum insured and make an informed decision. Do not opt for a sum insured that you do not require as it will increase your premium.

Summing It Up

Annual health check-up is the only way to keep a regular tab on a person’s health. With health insurance, policyholders do not have to worry about the cost of annual health check-ups. Just make sure to keep the above-mentioned factors in mind before buying a health policy with a free annual health check-up facility.