What Is Health Insurance?
Health Insurance has become a major tool to take care of our health care for us and our family. “Health is Wealth” is an old proverb and is true in today’s world when health care costs are rising and most of us are unable to pay for it.
That is where Health Insurance comes into play. After all, we all would love to pay our rising medical expenses in installments or premiums which can be annual, quarterly, or monthly depending upon our convenience in today’s fast-paced world when we hardly have time to take care of ourselves and our family’s health, Health Insurance has become a major tool and means to compensate for this shortcoming.
Indeed we live in a world of uncertainties where sickness, accidents, and financial loss have to us and our near and dear ones have become a major headache for all of us. Not any more. Insurance cover has taken care of all of that and we just have to pay our annual premium.
Insurance is a safeguard to all of us against uncertainties. We have all kinds of Insurance like Life Insurance, Accidental Insurance, General Insurance, and of course Health Insurance which we are going to discuss here in detail. The Logic is simple. We pay our premiums and in return, our health insurer agrees to cover a part or full medical expenses.
What is Insurance Premium?
The Insurance Premium is the amount we pay yearly, quarterly, or monthly to a Health Insurance company to provide Health Coverage.
What is PPO?
PPO is a Preferred Provider Organization. Under PPO Plan your healthCare company has multiple health care providers at your disposal.
Types of Health Insurance
Health Insurance is of various types. You can have medical insurance through a private insurer, through an employee, or through the government.
Today this insurance covers more than just medical expenses. Of Course, you have to pay extra for that in your premium. These include drugs prescription, Vision, Travel, life, disability, critical illness, and accidental insurance.
The Scope of Health Insurance in India
The world’s first prototype of a health insurance company was started by lumber companies in Washington state in the USA in the 1890s. Here the companies paid the doctors to offer care to their employees.
It was in Texas, the USA where the hospitals banded together in 1929 to create the world’s first Health Insurance Blue Cross that helped cover the Hospitalization cost to patients. By 1939, Blue Cross had over 3 million members.
In India, Health Insurance was started in 1986 by the General Insurance company of India under its Mediclaim Plan. The health care industry has increased exponentially since then.
The healthCare industry in India is one of the fastest-growing industries. The market grew at the rate of 24% in the financial year 2017. It has been growing at the rate of 23% for the last 10 years which can be attributed to the liberalization of the economy and increasing awareness of health insurance among the public.
Despite the impact of Covid19, the Indian HealthCare Industry is expected to grow by 10% to 576 billion Indian Rupees by2020.
Healthcare Industry is still in its infant stage in India with roughly 25% of the population under its coverage.
Thus there exists a huge potential for growth and penetration of Health Insurance to a large population. There are a lot of opportunities in the marketing and distribution of health insurance products in India.
Today there are 30 Health Insurance companies in India in the Government, Private and Stand-Alone. These companies cover life coverage, travel insurance, collision protection, health Insurance, rustic insurance, and so on.
Top 10 Health Insurance Companies in India
Here are a few of the Best Health Insurance companies in India.
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IFFCO Tokio General Insurance
This insurance company is a tie-up between the world’s largest compost producer IFFCO (India Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Group) and Japan’s 2nd largest insurance company Tokio Marine group.
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Care Health Insurance
Care health Insurance Ltd, formerly known as Religare Health Insurance is a joint endeavor between Reliance Enterprise Ltd, Union Bank of India, and Corporation bank.
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Magma HDI Insurance
Magma HDI General insurance company Ltd is a joint enterprise between Magma Fincorp Ltd. and HDI Global SE.
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The Oriental Insurance Company
The Oriental Insurance company offers its customers a wide scope of health Insurance items.
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New India General Insurance
New India General Insurance is a global general insurance company in Mumbai. The insurance company has an assortment of health insurance plans for various sections of society.
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Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Bajaj Allianz is a joint endeavor between Alliance SE and Bajaj Finserv Limited. In excess of 6500 organization clinics, the insurance company provides health care plans to its members.
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Max Bupa Insurance
Max Bupa health insurance is a premium insurance company with various health care plans that covers you and your family members.
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Tata AIG General Insurance Company
Tata AIG provides numerous health care plans to you and your family members.
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ICICI Lombard Insurance company
ICICI Lombard Insurance company is a premium Insurance company in India with a lot of health-related plans with numerous benefits.
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Manipal Cigna Insurance
Manipal Cigna Health Insurance was set up in 2014. The insurance company has health plans well suited to its customers and their family members.
The Healthcare industry offers excellent job opportunities for students after graduation. It offers them different career paths to pursue in the right direction. The basic requirement for the students is working knowledge in finance, accounting, and economics and interest to work in the healthcare sector.
By working in Healthcare companies you get an opportunity to provide essential services to their fellow members of society, work in a stable industry with job security, and ability to master various skills like customer service and critical thinking to help them grow in related industries.
Job Profiles in Health Insurance
Though Healthcare Industry has many career choices to consider, here are a few of the most popular career paths for you to choose.
1) Insurance Billing Executive
A Health Insurance billing specialist processes bills for insurance companies. They create invoices, verify patient’s information profiles and handle their insurance claims. They ensure the accuracy of the payments made to the patients. They even assist the patients with billing queries, discrepancies, or issues.
2) Insurance Verification Specialists.
The task of a Health Insurance verification specialist verifies and certifies the patient’s insurance status. Insurance verification specialists research patient’s policy benefits and prove their coverage for specific medical procedures. They also perform clerical functions for patient billing and help resolve clerical functions for patient billing. They also help patients with copayments, benefits, coverage, and care authorization. They also collaborate with supervisors and managers to resolve complicated converge issues.
3) Insurance Claims Processor
The task of a Health Insurance claims processor is to access and process claims for insurance companies. They also perform clerical duties that can include processing new insurance policies, modifying existing ones, and obtaining policyholder’s information. They verify the policyholder’s records and accounts. They also perform data entry tasks, assist other insurance specialists with insurance claims, reimbursements and determine the validity of claims resulting in their acceptance and rejection.
4) Insurance Sales Agent
A Health Insurance Sales Agent helps customers choose the right insurance policy for their needs. Their task is to call potential customers, follow up, and offer customized programs on each customer’s expectations. They also design and implement marketing strategies to sell health insurance policies. Insurance sales agents can work independently or with health insurance companies.
5) Insurance Benefits Advisors
The role of Health Insurance benefits advisors is to consult and help customers who are interested in taking health insurance policies. Their role is to provide correct information on the health policies to the customers. The schedule calls, organize in-person meetings with potential clients.
6) Insurance Implementation Specialists
All tasks related to computer software and Hardware, technical systems, and technical solutions projects are done by Insurance Implementation Specialists. Their role in the insurance companies is to plan, initiate and manage external software implementation projects The customers are given a better understanding of how to use the company’s software. Implementation specialists work within the IT department of an organization. They also act as consultants to clients helping them choose the right company’s products and services.
7) Medical Coding Supervisor
The coordination and managing of a team of medical coding specialists in a company are done by the Medical Coding Supervisor. All the patent files are checked for proper coding by the Medical Coding Supervisor. This ensures the safety and 100% accuracy of insurance claims. All the tasks related to medical charts revision and updating treatment and procedural codes stored in the medical database are done by the Insurance companies. Medical Coding Supervisor works for insurance companies, physician offices clinics, and hospitals.
8) Insurance Broker
The task of connecting clients with the health insurance companies is done by the Health Insurance Brokers. Insurance Brokers help their clients to find an Insurance policy that is most beneficial to them. They also negotiate new policy terms, lower premiums, and extend insurance benefits on their client’s behalf.
9) Healthcare Insurance Actuary
The development and implementation of solutions to different financial problems in the health insurance industry are done by a Health Insurance Actuary. They analyze data and make economic predictions of expected costs and profits margins based on public health data, their family history, occupational risk factors, and age-associated with particular customers. They also help underwriters to calculate premium costs.
10) Insurance Underwriters
All reviewing of insurance applications to determine their risks is done by Insurance Underwriters. They analyze data, calculate risk, and research candidate’s applications to approve or refuse coverage.
Salary in Health Insurance Sector
The average salary of a Health Insurance employee is Rs 1,453,193(20,203 USD) per year. The most typical salary in Health Insurance in India is Rs 504,287(7000USD).
How to join Health Insurance Industry
You can Join the HealthCare Industry by taking a Certificate Course in Health Insurance after graduation. After completing the certificate course students can get a plumb job in many Indian and Multinational companies.
The certificate course is designed to prepare the students for the ongoing developments in the healthCare system in India. It helps the students to understand the role of IRDA and TPAs, E-commerce in health insurance, Knowledge and skills required to prevent, diagnose and manage acute and urgent aspects of illness and injuries affecting patients of all age groups.
The certificate course is well suited for graduates in any discipline including Medicine in Allopathy, Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, Physiotherapy, Nursing, and Paramedical.
The certificate course also provides various career opportunities to doctors who want to specialize in consultancy in HealthCare companies, Hospitals, and corporate organizations.
The course is certified by Medvarsity and is of 6 months duration.
The students must graduate in MBBS, Dental, Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, Physiotherapy, Nursing, and paramedical to be eligible to join the certificate course.
The certificate course is now offered online also.
Here are a few of the top colleges that offer courses in Health Insurance in India.
The Institute offers students a 6-month Diploma in Health Insurance. Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences is affiliated with Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. The institute is located at Udgir Road, Bidar, Karnataka.
The Institute offers a 6-month course in Health Insurance. It is affiliated with Karnataka State Open University. The institute is located at Jamnagar, Gujrat.
The institute offers a 6-month Diploma in Health Insurance. Brilliant Education is affiliated with Gujarat University. The Institute is located at Waghodia Road, Vadodara, Gujrat.
Medvarsity is India’s first Medical E-Learning Venture initiated by Apollo Hospitals Group, India’s first JCI-accredited Hospital. Medvarsity was launched in 2000 to promote quality education for Health care providers through Distance medical Educational programs in many specialties. The Institute offers a 6 months course in Health Insurance after graduation.
After getting your Insurance Certificate, you must also develop your Marketing and Management skills to grow the healthcare industry. You must be able to sell a Health Insurance policy to your prospective clients. After all, that will be your primary job as a Insurance agent in the industry.