Apart from medical treatments, healthcare also includes medical insurance. When calculating healthcare costs, consider the cost of the procedure or treatment, along with the cost of health check-ups, hospitalisation and accommodation, medication, consumables such as small medical equipment and post-hospitalisation care.

You can use a healthcare calculator to calculate healthcare costs and know where you can save your medical expenses. In addition, if you have medical insurance or a life insurance policy with health riders, you can find out what treatments and procedures can be covered under your insurance policy.

This can help reduce some of the healthcare costs. It is also important to visit a network hospital that is covered under your medical insurance to avail of the cashless benefits.

In case of a medical emergency, immediately get in touch with the nearest hospital for accommodation. Prepare for the situation by gathering a few essential items in a small bag for the patient, along with their medical documents and health insurance. While people tend to panic in these situations, try to stay calm and keep in touch with the hospital so that they can help you with admitting the patient at the earliest.

One of the main factors that affect healthcare costs is inflation. Among the other factors is the choice of medical facility or hospital where the treatment is due, the nature of the ailment/condition, the type of procedure or surgery to be undertaken, the medical attention required, the post-treatment recovery period and procedures, if any, and more.

Financial planning plays a major role in planning your healthcare expenditure. After receiving your monthly salary and setting aside some amount for your household expenses, utility bills, essential needs, and investments, you can save some of the remaining money to create a medical emergency fund.

Keep adding a fixed amount to this fund each month so that you have a ready financial resource for healthcare expenditures in case the need arises. A healthcare calculator can help you decide how much you need to save for medical and healthcare funds. Accordingly, you can contribute a fixed amount every month, so there are no last-minute hassles.

In a life insurance policy, riders^{^} are optional benefits that you can add to your base life insurance plan for an additional but nominal premium cost. These riders cover a range of risks and uncertain events such as critical illnesses, hospitalisation, terminal illnesses, accidental death, disability and so on.

The rider sum assured is fixed, and when any of the above events occur, as covered under the riders, a certain percentage of the sum assured, or the lump sum will be paid out to you or your family so that the related expenses can be taken care of.

You can add one or more suitable health riders^{^}, such as a critical illness benefit or a comprehensive health or protection rider, to your life insurance plan. When the event or the risk covered under these riders occurs, you will be able to receive a percentage of the rider sum assured to cover the healthcare costs ranging from diagnosis to the treatment of the illness/ailment/condition.

Though your life insurance policy offers extensive coverage, it only covers the insured’s death, wherein the sum assured will be paid out to the insured’s family.

Life insurance riders^{^}, however, cover specific risks or unforeseen events such as critical illnesses, accidental death and disability, major illnesses, severe injuries, hospitalisation and more. The rider/riders pay out the benefit on the occurrence of any of these events covered under the rider.

A term insurance policy offers extensive coverage against the untimely demise of the policyholder, and a predetermined sum assured is paid out to the insured’s family. Therefore, adding a rider to your term plan can be beneficial so that other uncertain risks and events such as hospitalisation, critical and terminal illnesses, accidental death and disability, etc.