Medical costs are on the rise, worldwide. According to a 2018 Global Medical Trend Rates survey by a leading British professional services firm, “a combination of aging populations and overall declining health” has contributed to medical costs increasing globally every year.
Lifestyle changes in today’s rapidly developing world, as well as challenges posed by old age, have led to an increased incidence of medical conditions, chronic or otherwise, that require costly treatment and care. From routine tests and examinations to often-ignored preventative measures, staying healthy has become an increasingly expensive endeavour.
Understandably, when they hear the words ‘medical expenses’, a lot of people invariably think hospital bills and hospital bills alone. Though, of course, hospital bills do make up a bulk of one’s medical expenses, a number of commonly overlooked costs accumulate over time to leave a sizeable hole in one’s pocket. These include routine visits to the dentist, eye care in the form of regularly changed glasses or contact lenses, hearing aids, water purifiers, home improvements that aid older people, therapy, travel or fuel costs and even something as trivial as parking fees.
Due to the rapidly rising costs of these and other medical needs, to say nothing of global uncertainties in social, political, economic and environmental spheres, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, in 10 years’ time, medical expenses are going to be bordering on prohibitively high.
A US survey showed that in 2019, Americans spent twice as much on healthcare as they did in the 1980s. Even if one accounts for the unusually high medical costs in the United States where healthcare is a politically charged topic, global trends show that medical costs are indeed rising all over the world – though more rapidly in some regions than others. In 10 years, owing to inflation and other factors outside one’s control – advances in technology notwithstanding – chances are that adequate healthcare is going to be near inaccessible in terms of costs.
In Sri Lanka, too, where patients who opt for private healthcare bear 87% of expenses out of pocket, according to the Institute for Health Policy, things are not looking up. A bypass surgery that cost Rs 750,000 in 2019 is estimated to cost Rs 1,500,000 in 2029 – a 100% increase. Against this backdrop, the need for a future-proof health insurance policy cannot be overstated.
AIA’s new and improved Health Protector policy is tailor-made for this eventuality, with rising medical costs in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in mind. Among its many benefits, AIA Health Protector rewards customers for staying healthy with a No Claim Privilege that increases protection by 25% for each a year that a claim is not made up to a maximum of 100% of the cover limit. With the No Claim Privilege, customers can get their Premier Global Hospitalisation Care cover doubled in four years.
AIA Health Protector is a comprehensive health cover that allows you and your family to afford the best healthcare anywhere in the world. Even the lowest hospitalisation cover limit on Health Protector covers treatment in Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. With Health Protector, you can, obtain worldwide coverage for hospital expenses up to Rs 50 million until age 70.
