Have you been planning to get yourself or your family a medical card but just haven’t done it? Well, health decisions should not be put off, as you should always be well-protected. Medical card insurance can be a very boring and touchy subject, but rest assured; we will help you break down the more complicated topics surrounding medical cards.
What Is A Medical Card?
Before getting into the logistics of a medical card, let’s dive into what medical cards are. When you get your medical card, your selected insurance company will be issuing you a card that will allow you to subscribe to your selected coverages at any panel hospital.
Some medical card features will allow you to be admitted into the hospital and go through all the treatments you require without having to pay for them at the hospital. This way, you can be worry-free when you have to deal with admission, treatments and even when you checkout of the hospital. The last thing you would want to worry about is the money you will need to pay when you have more important things like your health to focus on.
Benefits Of A Medical Card
Your medical card is probably the most important card you can carry with you besides your IC because it comes with a ton of benefits. Some of them are :
Getting overseas assistance during an emergency
- Travelling is supposed to be fun, but sometimes bad things can happen. Unfortunately, your medical card can provide emergency overseas assistance if this happens.
Receiving Cash Allowance
- When you’re admitted, you will be eligible for additional income that can help you with things like food or lodging for your dependents.
Being Able To Get A Second Opinion
- Things like second opinions can make or break your treatment, and you should always get a second opinion before you make a big decision. Your medical card will be able to pay for this.
Incidentally, if you are looking for a medical card that covers you specifically when you're overseas for more than three months, you may want to take a closer look at international insurance packages.
5 Things That Will Make Your Medical Card Worth It
Benefit 1: High Insurance Limit
Your medical card has two different types of limits: an annual limit and a lifetime limit.
For example, if your card has an annual limit of RM 50,000, you will only be able to use up to RM 50,000 during the year on your medical card. If you exceed that amount, you must pay for it yourself. This amount will be reset the following year, and you can use another RM 50,000.
A lifetime limit means the maximum amount your insurer will cover during your entire lifetime. When your limit is reached, your policy should be terminated. Having a high insurance limit for both is important because you never know how much you might need to spend if something unfortunate happens.
Always look for a higher annual limit because it’s better to be covered over a yearly amount than a full lump sum. Having that option yearly will ensure you have enough money to cover any treatment over many years. If you take out more than half of your annual limit, the amount left to use over the years would be much less. It’s a balancing game that you should put much more thought into.
Benefit 2: Hospital Allowance Benefit
As mentioned above, having a hospital allowance will greatly benefit your medical card. This is because if you are admitted for a long time, you might not be able to get your normal pay from your job. This allowance will help you pay for the day-to-day expenses if you cannot afford to pay them.
This medical card feature will give you a daily allowance that can be used to pay for your caretaker or relatives when they are taking care of you in the hospital. It might seem like an afterthought, but having this extra cash will allow you to save up or pay for surprise expenses while you’re in the hospital.
Benefit 3: Coverage For Outpatient Cancer Treatment
Cancer is on the rise, as it is now known that 38.4% of Malaysians will be diagnosed with cancer within the year. That’s almost 4 out of 10 Malaysians. Therefore, we believe that one of the more important medical card benefits should be outpatient cancer treatment coverage.
Paying for cancer treatment is one of the most expensive expenses when it comes to being diagnosed with cancer. It is best to ensure that your medical card plan covers this.
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Benefit 4: Reimbursements For Surgeries
Some medical cards only have limited coverage, so when it comes to planning out your medical card plan, you need to be a bit more thorough. You will be admitted to medical surgery, but if you don’t have comprehensive coverage, you might be surprised with a large bill when you check out.
Surgeries are extremely expensive, and although you might want a cheaper medical card plan, it might be smarter to pay a little extra to get a fully covered medical card.
Benefit 5: Panel Hospital Coverage
Despite current medical cards having access to many panel hospitals, they still differ, and you might have a selected hospital that you would prefer to go to. Always check and pay a little more attention to the panel hospitals listed on each medical card plan. A more extensive panel hospital selection is much better than having limitations when stuck in a rut.
All in all, a medical card is so important nowadays. We don’t want anything unfortunate to happen, but we must always be prepared. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Always take charge of your medical care plan because if you don’t know what you’re entitled to, you might be unable to tell the hospital what you’re covered for. In addition to that, the worry comes if you are under-protected. Always keep your medical card plan updated and try to upgrade it every other year so that it’s in line with your income.
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