Chronic medical conditions are categorized as diseases or conditions that do not have an apparent cure. Examples of chronic conditions include: Hypertension, Asthma, Arthritis and Diabetes to name a few.
Hong Kong has major issues with poor air quality due to elevated pollution levels. Contributory factors include highly dense living conditions given the limited amount of space and fume exhausts from buses, vehicles, industry waste locally and in the mainland. The Hong Kong government publishes daily air quality index figures to alert residents to locations where the pollution is the most severe. People with respiratory conditions are recommended to avoid those areas or stay indoors. Air pollution in Hong Kong has become the main cause of Asthma. Consequently, the last ten years saw a drastic rise in the number of people in Hong Kong developing Asthma as a chronic condition.
Since there is no current recognizable ailment for the condition, Asthma is usually treated symptomatically over the long term, possibly lasting the duration of that person's life. This unfortunately means having to regularly foot the cost of medical care, which could accumulate to become a substantial amount.
With this in mind, a Chronic health condition coverage becomes an invaluable benefit to have enabling you to have frequent treatment without financial worry, letting you get on with your life.
Growing older increases the chance of developing chronic medical conditions. Preparing for the unforeseeable future of developing a chronic illness can help you offset any costs you may end up paying later on in life. In the event that you do become chronically unwell and attempt to take out a policy, conditions prior to application will be deemed as pre-existing and will not be covered.
This emphasizes the importances of a health insurance plan with a chronic condition coverage benefit early so that if you do develop a serious chronic medical illness when you are older, you are covered.
Medical insurance policies in Hong Kong may deal with chronic condition coverage through one of the following methods:
Coverage only applies to the symptomatic manifestations of the chronic illness in question. Also known as a “flare up”, immediate treatment will often be administered as soon as symptoms appear. A classic example would be suffering from an asthma attack requiring instant medication. There is a possible risk of mortality if left untreated. This can thereby be designated as an acute phase of the disease. Policies for this type of coverage will be arranged accordingly.
Lifetime limits comprise of a fixed coverage amount set by the insurance provider which can go towards paying the cost of medical treatment for the chronic condition during the individual's entire life. Since this monetary sum is fixed, no adjustments are possible. Once the limit on your plan has been completely spent, cover cannot be obtained for any other extra treatments you may require thereafter.
For this type of chronic health condition benefit, a fixed sum will be set by the insurance company that can be utilized for treatments for the chronic illness per a policy year. When you come to renew your policy, the limit will be reset to the predetermined amount so that you can still obtain chronic condition coverage under your plan for the new policy year.
Please be aware that chronic condition coverage may not available on all HK health insurance plans dependent upon the insurer that provided your policy. It is important to check your policy first before applying for a medical coverage plan in Hong Kong.
Free quotes on medical insurance plans that contain the chronic condition benefit as an option are available here. If you require more information or you would like to get in touch with one of our expert consultants contact us now.
