World Diabetes Day: Health insurance plays crucial role in leading financially secured

life
Priya Deshmukh Gilbile November 12, 2021
Health issues and emergencies may arise at any point in life, and in the world of growing
medical inflation, and the rising lifestyle diseases, having a comprehensive health insurance
coverage has become a necessity more than ever for every individual and family to protect
against the unforeseen medical expenses
Diabetes is one such lifestyle disease, which is gradually getting a hold in India. It is affecting
not only the elders and young adults but has started to affect the children as well. According
to a report by International Diabetes Federation, India is the second country that is most
affected by diabetes, with about 77 million people affected by it. The number is shocking and
is expected to rise in the coming years. Also, every year around 70,000 children are
suffering from type 1 diabetes, whereas 40,000 have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Children residing in the urban areas have less or no physical activity such as playing sports
with their peers or exercising. They tend to spend most of their time with computers, laptops,
and mobile phones.
Moreover, children’s screen time has soared in the pandemic, and the use of electronic
devices have become the centrepiece of school and social life. The tendency of eating junk
food regularly is also high in them, thus causing their body to develop high blood glucose.
When diagnosed with diabetes, these children need to be dependent on insulin for survival.
It is an unfortunate event to witness.
Thus, considering the given scenario, health insurance play an important role, if you rely on
insulin for diabetes, it can be challenging to afford. Some insurers also provide
complimentary wellness program to help customers manage their pre-existing chronic
conditions such as diabetes. Throughout the duration of the program, the customer’s
progress is measured across several metrics such as, reduction in blood sugar levels,
medication adherence, diet adherence, and weight loss achievement etc. at regularly
scheduled intervals.
The program helps customers understand their health through health check-ups and
targeted online health assessment & improvement activities. It then helps them get healthier
with customized programs, supported by a health coach, and provides access to Health and
Wellness discounts. The customers also earn points for participating in these programs that
enable them to either increase their benefits or reduce their health insurance premiums.
Today, the health insurance companies are playing an active role in helping customers
improve their health and well-being. Considering the disease burden in India is increasing
particularly diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and respiratory
disorders which carry a high impact on the current population. Some of the insurance
companies have launched disease specific products catering to one or two such diseases,
but they cannot substitute for the basic or comprehensive health insurance policy.
Disease specific product is only advisable provided people first get themselves covered
under basic or comprehensive health insurance policy and look for this product as an option
to upgrade coverage for specific diseases.
Remember, many studies indicate that the graph of diabetes is increasing rapidly, especially
in urban areas. Also, the medical inflation is forever on the rise and increasing medical costs
can deplete an individual’s wealth and savings. Even for relatively simple diseases,
hospitalization is inevitable and the hospitalization costs have been rising rapidly. This is
where health insurance cover plays a vital role, it can take care of increasing medical
expenses and protect wealth of individuals.
These days, there are plenty of things to stress about, but managing diabetes shouldn’t be
one of them. While there is no complete cure for the disease as of yet, but some simple
steps might help to manage the disease and live a relatively healthy life.
The key to managing diabetes is to keep blood sugar levels in a target range. To do this,
people who’ve been diagnosed with diabetes needs to take insulin, eat about the same
amount of carbohydrate at each meal, and exercise. This World Diabetes Day, also lets
ensure to buy adequate health insurance cover that provides complete protection for your
family, including the children. It will help those who’ve been diagnosed with diabetes better
navigate care and protect you from exhausting all your savings on the medical treatments.
Link: World Diabetes Day: Health Insurance Plays Crucial Role In Leading Financially
Secured Life (cnbctv18.com)