Have you used your cashless card yet?

The concept of health insurance in India is seeing a continual improvement in the past few years. One such result is cashless medical insurance which allows the policyholder to be hospitalized without the harassment of immediate payment, especially during emergencies. You just intimate your Third Party Administrator (TPA) of your situation and avail the medical treatment. TPA verifies your policy details, on behalf of the insurer, and gives clearance for the cashless services to be processed. In case of a planned visit, you should first inform the TPA and then avail treatment under the network of hospitals. Thus the most important research here is the number of tie-ups your cashless insurance carrier has with hospitals across the country.

Needless to say, the more hospitals your medical insurance provider has in its network, the easier it will be for you to avail its benefits.

Though Insurance companies hype cashless settlement policies as customer-friendly and convenient, for many who have bought these policies, the experience has not lived up to the promise. Many-a-times the insured has to either pay the hospital himself and get it reimbursed later, or run from pillar to post for the 'pre-paid'

facility, in which case the entire essence of a cashless facility vaporizes. Reasons behind it are many, the primary ones being the ignorance of the user and the hospitals overcharging patients under cashless claims.

It is thus worthwhile to keep the following in mind, when availing cashless -

• For planned hospitalisation, send the pre-authorisation form to the TPA, at least a week before the surgery.
• In case of accidents, make sure the doctor fills in fields like time of accident and evidence of alcohol abuse. A partially filled or illegible form sent to the medical team means it will be sent back to the hospital for clarification and cause more delay.
• If you are accompanying the patient then mention your cell phone number on the pre-authorisation request to ensure that the TPA can get in touch with you immediately.
• Carry your cashless settlement card at all times. This is of significant help in case of an emergency.
• Find out which of the network hospitals is close to your house or place of work.
• Be clear about which expenses and surgeries are covered by your policy.
• Don't forget to renew your policy every year.