NRIs must have health policy in India

Quite often, people travel abroad for jobs or business and plan to reside there for a couple of years. While many decide to take citizenship of that particular nation, few don't plan to reside there permanently and seek a return back to India in a few years. Those planning to stay back in the country do not have to particularly worry about the healthcare expenses for their entire life as they can buy insurance cover in the country of permanent residence.

However, for those planning to come back to India post their retirement and at a later stage of life, it is important that they must buy health insurance in India as well while they are young and fit. A health insurance cover bought in the country where you travelled and stayed for work would only cover you till you are a resident of that particular nation. Once you come back to India forever, the insurance policy bought in the other country would not cover you.

Why buy health insurance in India

In India, surgeons perform daily state-of-the-art heart surgery on adults and children at a nominal cost. For the record, about 2% of that average heart surgery costs a lot in the developed countries such as the United States. And when it comes to the quality of healthcare, the outcomes are among the best in our country. Healthcare in India is at the crossroads with the government rolling out the biggest publicly funded healthcare plan in the world and clamping down on prices of medical devices, even as global investments are pouring into tertiary care. What the world could learn from medical innovations undertaken and how India achieves these impressive clinical results at such a low price.

If you spare some time and read the policy terms and conditions of almost all of the insurance policies in India, there is a clause on geographical restrictions, which says that the policy will only cover expenses for treatment in India. Hence, treatment out of India is not covered under the policy. So, for people who live out of India and undergo a surgery or hospitalisation in the country they reside in, the health insurance policy in India will not cover it.

However, a few insurers have started covering treatments outside India, although these are for selected illnesses only. For instance, Religare Care provides a "Care Anywhere" benefit that covers the treatment of selected illnesses only such as cancer, brain tumour, organ transplant etc.

Section 80D of the Income Tax Act deals with tax deduction on health insurance premium. It may be noted that an NRI can also claim in the same way as a resident, when it comes to tax deduction u/s 80D. Apart from the Rs 25,000 deductions for a policy for yourself, spouse and dependent children, you can also get a separate limit of Rs 25,000 (Rs 50,000 for senior citizen parents) towards your parents' health insurance if you are paying for it. A claim under Section 80D can decrease your overall tax liability if you have taxable income in India.

The writer is head- health insurance, Policybazaar.com