Seeing a loved one in the hospital is always difficult. And these days, most of us have at least one family member who suffers from diabetes or hypertension or high cholesterol. Some families even go through the pain of fighting cancer. The biggest challenge for most families is the cost of ongoing treatment and care.
Dilip Sharma’s family hit a rough patch as his aging parents were in and out of hospital during the year. As if dealing with their pain and suffering was not enough, Dilip had to take care of the mounting medical expenses as well.
Being the only child of his parents, who are senior citizens, 40-year-old Dilip is solely responsible for looking after their health. Thankfully, Dilip has decent health cover provided by the MNC where he works as a Sales Manager. So he made sure that his parents went for physical check-ups every year.
During one such annual check-up 5 years ago, his 66-year-old mom was diagnosed with diabetes. The Sharma’s felt they dodged a bullet when her blood glucose level was finally under control with medication. However, she had one hospitalization last year for a gynaecological condition, which they did not know about. Luckily for Dilip, his company’s medical insurance helped cover the expenses.
Dilip also has private health cover for his parents to take care of expenses not covered by his corporate medical insurance. Though the private cover can’t be used for his mom’s pre-existing conditions, it came in handy during another emergency surgery. This time for his father.
The surgery was completely unplanned as his father was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed at home due to a heart attack. After the heart surgery, Dilip has been in and out of hospitals for some health scare or the other involving his dad.
During this period, his mother’s health also took a hit. She was diagnosed with hypertension in addition to diabetes. She also had to be hospitalised once for a high blood pressure-related complaint.
Dilip has been able to afford the medical bills only because his private insurance has a cashless hospitalization facility. However, due to multiple claims during the year, his insurance cover ran out and for the first time Dilip had to dip into his savings.
Dilip’s situation is not unique. Many of us, who care for elderly parents and grandparents, have to be prepared to deal with medical emergencies despite having health insurance.
Raising money in a pinch is a challenge most of us face. With huge hospital bills, it is possible that the insurance cover is exhausted for the year. Sometimes the hospital is not part of our insurer’s cashless network. So, while one has the funds to pay, it may not be available immediately.
In Dilip’s case, planning for a rainy day had been his biggest strength. So, when he hit this rough patch, he decided to get an emergency loan. It has a pre-approved limit, which means that while he is assigned a large amount, he has the option to withdraw only the amount he needs. He is only charged an interest for the actual amount used and not the entire sanctioned loan amount.
This is a great option for Dilip, who thinks he will be easily able to repay the amount using his salary should the need arise. The pre-approved limit also means he doesn’t have to dip into his savings if, god forbid, their family has to face a medical crisis again.
If you are also looking after a patient with a chronic condition and are concerned about being able to pay your your medical bills, then you could also opt for an emergency loan.