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Voluntary health insurance: is it worth spending money on a policy?
Today there are two types of health insurance – compulsory and voluntary. Let’s define their similarities and differences.
Every citizen of Russia is entitled to compulsory health insurance (MHI), which is based on the payment of a unified social tax, regardless of gender, age, place of residence and social status. Compulsory health insurance is also called the system of “minimum guarantees” for the provision of medical care. Having a compulsory medical insurance policy, you can go to the district clinic, as well as receive vital services in municipal hospitals, call an ambulance.
Many people ask themselves the question: having minimal guarantees, is it worth spending money on a VHI policy, that is, voluntary health insurance of citizens. Everyone decides for himself, but it is worth noting that there are many situations when the compulsory medical insurance policy is not enough. For example, you work unofficially, as a result of an accident, you get a fracture of, say, a leg – and the employer does not provide you with any social guarantees. Or you are simply tired of endless queues at the clinic at your place of residence and want to visit a paid medical institution.
Voluntary health insurance is right for you if you:
- Do not want to be treated in the district clinic
- Spend a significant amount on doctors every year
- Pay for the treatment of someone close to you
- Do traumatic sports
- Etc.
What does the VHI policy guarantee?
Under the VHI policy, all services are provided within the framework of a specific insurance program, that is, a list of medical services that will be paid for by the insurer when the insured contacts a medical institution. An unequivocal advantage of supplementary health insurance over compulsory medical insurance is that you yourself (or, otherwise, your employer) take part in the formation of the insurance program, determine the types and scope of services, choose medical institutions in which you would like to be served and treated.
In fact, a voluntary health insurance policy in most cases guarantees everything the same as a compulsory medical insurance policy, but in medical institutions with a significantly higher level of comfort.
A standard set of services under the VHI policy: outpatient care, house calls, various tests and studies, calling an ambulance and influenza vaccination (for children, the list of vaccines is wider). You can also include dental care and emergency hospitalization on this list, but this will increase the cost of the policy.
In our country, voluntary health insurance policies are most often purchased by employers for their employees. Nevertheless, it is possible to issue such a policy on an individual basis.
What affects the cost of a voluntary health insurance policy?
First of all, the initial data: gender, age, state of health of the citizen. Secondly, the scope of the client’s activity (absence or presence of risk in the work, the likelihood of occupational diseases, etc.). Thirdly, of course, the list of services included in the product will affect the amount in the check: will you limit yourself to the standard set, or would you like to include additional items in the policy, such as, for example, dental care. And fourthly, the level of medical care. As a rule, insurance companies offer to choose one of the networks of commercial clinics, but you can also conclude an agreement for the provision of medical care in a public hospital.
The annual cost of the policy ranges from 25 to several hundred thousand rubles per year. By the way, you can easily save money if you decide to provide medical support to the whole family at once.
In order to issue a VHI policy, you need to come to the office of the insurance company with your passport. However, it also happens that the insurance company may ask you to fill out an additional questionnaire or even undergo a medical examination – to assess the risk. This is mainly done in cases where the amount of insurance payments is quite high.
When issuing a policy of voluntary medical insurance for citizens, pay attention to the following point: where to go when you need medical assistance. The fact is that usually insurance companies try to control what kind of help the client turned to the doctor for, what invoice the clinic issued to him, whether there were any markups during the calculation. Therefore, keep in mind that going to a doctor directly may cost you a little more.