Importance of Preventive Health Check-Up - Benefits, Deductions

Modern lifestyle has become so inundated with unhealthy habits and sedentary routines that preventing diseases is now an absolute challenge. That’s why doctors are increasingly recommending regular Preventive Health Checkups to have the best chance at the early detection of diseases and avoiding complications.

What is Preventive Health Check-Up?

Health is defined as a state of physical, mental and social well-being, which can be achieved through a balanced diet, physical exercise and adequate sleep and recreation. However, even after taking all the necessary steps, our health is still at risk of falling prey to diseases unexpectedly. A Preventive Health Checkup is, therefore, aimed to recognize and minimize such risk at an early stage.

Research shows that preventive checkups are an effective means of reducing the financial burden of healthcare by detecting potential health issues before they become critical and require expensive treatments. Therefore, Preventive Health Checkup is undoubtedly the key to live a healthier life.

What are the Benefits and Important Factors of Preventive Health Check-Up?

There are numerous benefits of buying Preventive Health Checkups packages. Therefore, to buy a comprehensive Preventive Health Checkup package you need to be aware of its important features, some of these features are listed below:

1. Valuable and reliable health education.

2. Assessment of your probability of getting sick.

3. Early detection of a health condition that can be potentially life-threatening.

4. Increase chances for receiving early treatment, and sometimes cure.

5. Regular monitoring of pre-existing health conditions and, thereby preventing the risk of complications.

6. Results of the check-up can help in increasing longevity if you improve the lifestyle.

7. Keeping your overall healthcare cost at a minimum by avoiding costly emergency treatments.

8. Allowing yourself to be actively involved in your health care.

9. Staying up-to-date and empowered with the latest medical information and technologies.

Who Requires Preventive Medical Check-up?

Ideally, a person at age 30 and beyond should opt for Preventive Medical Check-up. It is used to screen and detect an umbrella of lifestyle diseases, of which the most important ones are:

• Diabetes

• Hypertension

• Heart or Cardiac diseases

• Obesity

Increased stress and lack of time for physical exercise and healthful cooking are the major contributors to developing unhealthy habits. This leads to subsequent and gradual deterioration of our general health, and before we know it, lifestyle diseases come knocking at our door. 

What’s worse is that some of these lifestyle diseases are ‘silent killers’- they harm our body without causing any symptoms. Therefore, Preventive Health Check-up can help a person timely screen these diseases. For example, retinopathy and foot ulcers are common complications of diabetes. With annual eye and foot examinations, you can prevent vision loss and lower-limb amputations. Similarly, it is crucial to control blood pressure and blood cholesterol to alleviate the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Another important purpose of Preventive Health Check-up is the surveillance of cancer. Many cancers are symptomless and not diagnosing them at an early stage can cost lives. Therefore, people at risk of developing cancer can have a better chance of recovery if they invest in regular health checkups.

List of Preventive Healthcare Packages:

There are various age-specific, gender-specific and disease-specific Preventive Healthcare Packages that you can choose from.

1. Family Package: An entire family can enjoy the benefits of full-body check-ups, dietary, ophthalmic and dental consultations. Some hospitals also offer customized packages for men and women.

2. Cardiac Package: This package has been designed to identify the risk of heart attacks or strokes and other cardiovascular accidents and provide corrective consultations.

3. Diabetes Package: Diabetic patients can avail Diabetes plans to keep their vital organs in the regular check-up and avoid complications.

4. Cancer Package: For early cancer screening and future risk assessment.

5. Pediatric Package: Healthcare plans for children up to thirteen years are available and include a range of Pediatric, Ophthalmic, Dental, and general check-ups.

6. Fertility Check-up: Couples who are struggling to conceive can go for fertility check-ups and receive expert consultations.

7. Dental Package: Dental Packages outside the regular checkup plans are increasingly becoming popular in many hospitals and dental clinics.

List of the Tests Under Preventive Health Check-up:

The following tests are usually performed under Preventive Health Check-up:

Tax Deduction under Section 80D:

You have a great opportunity of enjoying tax exemption of Rs. 5000 on Preventive Health Checkup under Section 80D of Income Tax Act, 1961 enacted by the Government of India.

Also, read: How To Claim Tax Benefits on Health Insurance Premiums?

What is Section 80D Preventive Health Checkup?

Under Section 80D, you can claim an overall deduction of Rs. 25,000 on the expenses of Preventive Health Checkups either for yourself, your spouse or your dependent children. You can also claim an additional deduction of up to Rs. 25,000 for insurance of your parents, aged less than 60 years. If the parents are above 60 years, the amount allowed to be deducted is Rs, 50,000, (increased from Rs. 30,000 in Budget 2018). If both the taxpayer and his/her parents above 60 years old, the maximum available deduction is up to Rs.1 lakh.

Things to Consider While Getting a Preventive Health Check-Up:

Opting for a Preventive Health Check-Up regularly allows you to stay ahead of a medical issue which can be in its early stages. In many unfortunate cases, the disease is not detected until it reaches a dangerous stage and treatment may not have the desired impact. This can be avoided with regular screening. 

Here is a list of things you can consider while going in for a check-up:

1. Most of the investigations during the checkup require you to be on an empty stomach, preferably at least 10 hours of fasting

2. Wear comfortable and loose clothes for easy manoeuvre

3. For imaging tests such as CT, X-Ray and Bone Densitometry, avoid wearing accessories, or any metallic objects.

4. Inform your doctor of any pacemaker or denture beforehand

5. Be sure to commit to regular checkups with as much of healthy lifestyle modification as possible

How is Acko Annual Preventive Medical Check-up Beneficial For Policyholders?

Preventive Health Checkups are extremely important in reinforcing healthy lifestyle changes and motivating yourself and your family members. With ACKO's health insurance, you will get an option to get a complete medical examination by a medical practitioner under Preventive Health Check-up. 

The comprehensive expert guidance provided during a health checkup can go a long way in supporting your well-being at any age, along with giving you the chance to receive treatments at a more favourable stage. The following tests are included in ACKO Health Insurance Preventive Check-up:

1. Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) 

2. Serum Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT)

3. Complete Blood Count (CBC) 

4. Electrocardiogram (ECG) 

5. Serum Total Cholesterol (T Chol)

6. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) 

7. Serum Creatinine

8. Serum Triglyceride (S. Trig)

Key Takeaway:

Preventive Health Checkup is an early detection tool which helps you keep updated with the changes that your body undergoes as you age. While sometimes a person can show signs and symptoms of a disease, in most cases they go undetected without regular check-ups. Early detection is one of the major benefits of Preventive Health Checkup in terms of a person's health, while things like tax benefit can make it to the list of added advantages. Thus, one should opt for Preventive Health Checkup to strengthen their health insurance portfolio.

Also, read: Health Insurance Plan for Women

Frequently Asked Questions:

1) How much does a comprehensive preventive health check-up package cost in India?

The cost of a comprehensive preventive health check-up package can range from Rs. 1000 to 12999 depending upon the type and number of tests and screenings included.

2) Is it necessary to buy health insurance to avail preventive health check-up?

No, as per law it is not necessary to buy health insurance to avail preventive health check-up and claim tax benefit for the same. However, buying adequate health insurance coverage can save a lot of money in case of a medical issue. You can claim for the expenses of hospitalization, ambulance charges, small procedures like tonsilitis, etc. And this coverage can also extend to your family members with the right plan.

3) What is Hemogram and is it a part of preventive health check-up?

Hemogram is the complete analysis of blood and yes it is usually included under preventive health check-up as some blood-related diseases can be prevented with regular screening.

4) What is preventive health check-up?

Preventive health check-up is a series of tests that are run on a person at regular intervals of time to detect potential diseases at an early stage.

5) Why is preventive health check-up important?

Preventive health check-up is important because many diseases may not show symptoms in its initial stages. They may appear at a later stage when the chances of curing the disease reduce. Through regular screening, one can keep a lookout for any medical issues and detect a possible ailment well in advance when treatment proves to work better and the chances of survival increase.