What Is Domiciliary Hospitalization?

So, what is domiciliary hospitalization? It’s no secret that most medical insurance policies never pay for medical treatments if you don’t get admitted to a hospital. While you should definitely go to a hospital in case of a medical emergency, sometimes, you may only have the option to receive medical attention at your home. That’s where a domiciliary insurance policy comes to aid you. Let’s give you a walkthrough of everything you need to know about this health insurance policy.

Domiciliary Hospitalization

Domiciliary hospitalization, also known as home hospitalization, is a part of health insurance coverage that many policyholders often opt for. It allows you, the policyholder, to receive medical treatment at your home if you’re not able to go to the hospital for some reason. 

You can also receive treatment at your home if there is no hospital that has the kind of treatment you’re looking for. This not only saves a lot of time but also saves you money, which you would have needed to pay for the frequent hospital visits (including the hospital room cost). 

The insurance company usually talks with the doctors in charge of your treatment to reimburse your medical treatment fees accordingly.

Eligibility Criteria for Domiciliary Hospitalization

To be eligible for a domiciliary hospitalization cover, you must fulfil the following two criteria:

• It should be a kind of medical emergency that takes 72 hours or more to treat.
• Your medical treatment should be related to an illness or medical emergency that would generally need hospitalization.
• If you’re applying for this cover for a pre-existing ailment, there should be no capable medical facility near your residence that has the equipment and expertise to treat it.

Benefits of Domiciliary Hospitalization

Domiciliary hospitalization covers naturally come with a lot of relevant benefits. Some of the major benefits are:

Always Ready for Emergency Situations

Domiciliary hospitalization policies are often necessary when you suffer from a medical crisis that cannot be treated in your nearby hospitals. This also applies when the policyholders cannot visit or be admitted to a hospital to treat their injuries or ailments.

Let’s take the recent COVID-19 situation as an example. During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, many Indians couldn’t get proper medical attention because of the lack of hospital beds and proper medical equipment. During this time, many doctors recommended that COVID-19 patients get medical treatment at their homes.

While it’s a wise choice, getting hospital-like treatment at home can be quite expensive. During times like this, you can make claims for domiciliary hospitalization to get reimbursement for all the medical and equipment costs.

Convenience for Disabled Persons or Senior Citizens

Senior citizens and physically challenged persons can often find it difficult to go to the hospital on a regular basis. This insurance policy allows them to get the necessary medical attention from the comfort of their home without worrying about the treatment cost.

Flexibility of Treatment

Domiciliary hospitalization offers great flexibility in treatment that allows people who are unable to move to a hospital with proper financial aid to get treated at their homes.

For example, let’s say Mr Singh was climbing down the stairs in his home. Unfortunately, he slips, falls down the stairs, and injures himself. And there is no one at home at the moment. Obviously, he can’t get to the hospital to get treated. Domiciliary health policy can help him at this moment and allow him to receive immediate medical treatment at his home. 

Documents Required for Claim Settlement

To get reimbursement for your medical cost, you must submit the following documents to your insurer:

• Photocopies of Aadhaar and PAN card.
• Cash receipts and reports of the medical tests.
• Cash receipts from the hospital.
• Other documents related to the treatment.
• Discharge summary.
• Any other documents requested by the insurer.

Now that you know what domiciliary hospitalization is and how it works getting these documents should be an easy job. Make sure you collect all the required documents to get complete reimbursements.

Conclusion

As you already know, normal medical insurance policies only pay for your medical treatment or diagnosis cost if you go to a hospital to receive treatments. However, the domiciliary health plan is different. It allows you to receive professional-grade medical treatment from the comfort of your home, and your insurer will still pay the medical bills. So, if you have a senior citizen in your home or have a pre-existing ailment that cannot be treated in nearby medical facilities, you should get a domiciliary hospitalization policy.

Also Read: What to keep in mind when buying a health insurance policy