Health Insurance Covers Pre And post-natal Expenses

A maternity insurance policy ensures coverage for pre-hospitalisation expenses, in-hospitalisation expenses, delivery costs - normal as well as caesarean, and post-hospitalisation expenses for after-delivery care and newborn cover.

A maternity cover policy can be inbuilt into the health insurance plan, available as an add-on or as a separate policy altogether. For instance, Tata AIG offers maternity cover benefits as an inbuilt part of its Medicare Premier health insurance policy.

Yes, health insurance with maternity cover ensures pre-natal and post-natal coverage.

But, what is a natal cover? What are pre and post-natal expenses? Let’s find out.

In medical terms, natal means related to childbirth. Thus, the natal cover is basically the childbirth cover. Deriving from this, pre and post-natal meanings are related to before and after childbirth.

Thus, pre and post-natal expenses in maternity cover include the expenses incurred before childbirth (pregnancy and actual delivery) and after childbirth (infant and mother care).

Pre-natal expenses in a maternity cover policy include the expenses incurred for doctor consultations, medicine costs, medical investigations, tests, etc., up to the day of hospitalisation. Generally, a maternity insurance policy covers the pre-hospitalisation expenses incurred at least 30 days prior to the hospitalisation.

Post-natal expenses in a maternity cover policy include any additional check-ups, tests and treatments of the mother and investigations and immunisations of the newborn. In addition, certain health insurance with maternity cover will include any extended hospitalisation and additional procedure costs post-delivery, depending on the nature and coverage of the policy.

Generally, pre-natal expenses up to 60 days after the delivery are covered under a maternity insurance plan.

The scope of coverage and benefits offered under a medical insurance plan is dependent on the type of policy and the provider. Therefore, it is imperative to go through the policy documents and understand the extent of benefits that your maternity cover policy offers.

Generally, along with coverage for pre and post-natal expenses, health insurance with maternity cover offers the following benefits:

• Pre-hospitalisation expenses - pregnancy-related medical care, such as medicines, consultations, tests, etc. 30 days prior to the delivery
• Hospitalisation expenses - doctor consultation, nurses, room rent, ambulance charges, medicines, tests, etc. during hospitalisation
• Labour and delivery expenses - expenses incurred for normal and caesarean birth
• Post-hospitalisation expenses - after childbirth care, medications and tests for the mother, immunisations for the baby and any other related medical costs up to 60 days after delivery
• Cashless hospitalisation benefit - get admitted to a network hospital under the maternity insurance plan for cashless treatment

Just like the varying set of benefits and inclusions under a health insurance plan, the exclusions of a maternity insurance policy will depend on the specific policy you opted for. Checking the exclusions of a health cover is more important than verifying the inclusions. Here are some common exclusions of a maternity cover policy:

• Cost of medicines that are not related to the delivery and associated treatments
• Any expenses arising from pre-existing conditions that may or may not affect the pregnancy
• Infertility treatments
• Treatment expenses for congenital issues

Along with coverage for pre hospitalisation expenses, in-hospitalisation costs, labour and delivery expenses, post hospitalisation expenses and cashless hospitalisation, a maternity insurance plan offers the following advantages:

• 360-degree protection for the mother and the child: With coverage of pre and post-natal expenses, along with labour and delivery charges, a maternity cover policy ensures all-around protection for the mother and the baby. The mother can choose the best treatment prior to the childbirth and ensure the same for the baby after the delivery.

• Security and peace of mind: Health insurance with maternity cover secures the mother and the child and assures peace of mind to the family. The couple can rest assured about the pre and post-natal expenses, especially in cases of cashless hospitalisations where the medical insurance provider will take care of the bills directly.

Health insurance with maternity cover comes with a waiting period clause. That means there is a fixed time period from the date of policy purchase for which you cannot claim any benefits of the maternity cover policy. Also, certain maternity insurance plans are not available if you already have a child.

Considering all this, it is important to start looking for a maternity cover policy - standalone or as part of your health insurance plan - when you get married. Unfortunately, most health insurance plans have a 3-year or 4-year waiting period for the maternity cover to kick in.

Therefore, along with all financial planning associated with a new married life, it is important to talk about having children and get health insurance with maternity cover as early as possible. In addition to the general benefits associated with health insurance, including coverage for the entire family, pre and post hospitalisation expense cover, cashless hospitalisation and health insurance tax benefits, you can also assure safe and quality care during childbirth.

If you are looking to buy a health insurance policy with maternity benefits, check out the Medicare Premier medical insurance plan from Tata AIG, which offers comprehensive maternity benefits. Get in touch with us for detailed information about the policy and coverage.

When you buy the Tata AIG Medicare Premier health insurance plan, you can claim up to ₹50,000 per policy year (₹60,000 for a girl child) as maternity expenses.

To file an online claim under our Medicare Premier plan:

• Go to the website and click on the Claims tab.
• Go to ‘Initiate a Claim’. Select ‘Health Insurance’.
• Login with your registered mobile number.
• Provide all the necessary information and attach any relevant documents.
• We will verify the claim and process it at the earliest.
• Once approved, we will disburse the applicable claim amount.

If you are getting treatment at one of our 7000+ network cashless hospitals, you can provide the policy details to the hospital, and they will directly get in touch with us for the claim. We will check the treatment and expense summary provided by the hospital and directly disburse the claim to the hospital, subject to the nature and scope of your coverage.

Thus, if you buy health insurance with maternity cover, you can claim for pregnancy, including pre and post-natal expenses, labour and childbirth expenses, other in-hospitalisation costs, post-hospitalisation expenses, etc. With this, you have an answer to can we claim insurance for pregnancy.