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<Prudent Strategies in Taking Out Medical Insurance> pdf (Chinese Version only)
Smart Tips |
How to decide the premium? Insurance companies will take into account policyholder’s age, sex, health condition and medical history to determine the amount of premium. Normally, the younger the age, the better the health, the lower the premium will be for policyholders for a certain level of coverage. Take out medical insurance policy – sooner is better than later Medical insurance will generally not provide protection for pre-existing conditions. The protection will comparatively be more comprehensive if a policyholder is younger, with less serious illnesses and naturally less excluded items. (The insured limit will have great impact on the choice of method of treatment and level of rooms for policyholders.) |
Medical Insurance = More Choices, More Flexibility
The latest statistics showed that only 1/3 of the Hong Kong population has taken out medical insurance cover. Many citizens prefer not to take out medical insurance but to count on the public medical system. They are not aware that medical insurance can provide them with more choices and greater flexibility.
More choices to make for one’s own decision
A few months ago, Mr Kwok went for consultation in a public hospital as he had waist pain. He was diagnosed to have kidney stone and had been scheduled to have operation in the middle of the following year. He felt that the waiting time was too long so he turned to a private doctor for a second opinion. He was referred to a private hospital for treatment. Mr Kwok said: “The doctor explained that I can be admitted to a hospital for the latest extra corporeal shock wave therapy treatment in a week’s time. Well it’s my body we are talking about, of course I’d like to have it fixed as soon as possible. Luckily, I have taken out medical insurance which can cover most of the operation charges. I don’t know what will happen if I have to wait one year for the operation in a public hospital.”
Extent of insurance for individuals differs
The medical services provided by the public medical system is inexpensive, but there are more restrictions in respect of medical treatment model and waiting time. Of course, a patient can opt for private medical service if he wants to have more choices and be able to make his own decision. However, he has to pay for higher medical expenses. So if a policyholder has taken out sufficient medical insurance, he can enjoy the flexibility in choosing the method of treatment and the sort of medical service, but he only pays part of the medical expenses.
In Mr Kwok’s case, since operation for kidney stone removal is not a case of emergency, patients in public hospital have to wait for months to receive the operation. It was fortunate that Mr Kwok had taken out medical insurance so he could choose to have the operation in a private hospital as well as the laparoscopy treatment to shorten the time for recovery.
According to the advice of insurance practitioners, before policyholders decide on the extent of protection required, they should make reference to their own doctors’ fee and the general level of hospital charges, plus the actual standards of charges to assess the extent of cover they should take out to meet their own needs.