Stay one step ahead of potential health risks with regular check-ups
✅Plans starting @ Rs. 20/day* ✅Zero waiting period and out of pocket costs
Home / Health Insurance / Articles / Preventive Health Check-Up
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.
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 examination is undoubtedly the key to live a healthier life.
There are numerous benefits to buying Preventive Health Checkups packages. Therefore, to buy a comprehensive Preventive general checkup package, you need to be aware of its important features. Some of these features are listed below:
Valuable and reliable health education.
Assessment of your probability of getting sick.
Early detection of a health condition that can be potentially life-threatening.
Increase chances for receiving early treatment, and sometimes cure.
Regular monitoring of pre-existing health conditions and, thereby preventing the risk of complications.
Results of the check-up can help in increasing longevity if you improve the lifestyle.
Keeping your overall healthcare cost at a minimum by avoiding costly emergency treatments.
Allowing yourself to be actively involved in your preventive care.
Staying up-to-date and empowered with the latest medical information and technologies.
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:
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 full 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.
There are various age-specific, gender-specific and disease-specific Preventive Healthcare Packages that you can choose from.
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.
This package has been designed to identify the risk of heart attacks or strokes and other cardiovascular accidents and provide corrective consultations.
Diabetic patients can avail Diabetes plans to keep their vital organs in the regular check-up and avoid complications.
For early cancer screening and future risk assessment.
Healthcare plans for children up to thirteen years are available and include a range of Pediatric, Ophthalmic, Dental, and general check-ups.
Couples who are struggling to conceive can go for fertility check-ups and receive expert consultations.
Dental Packages outside the regular checkup plans are increasingly becoming popular in many hospitals and dental clinics.
The following routine checkup tests are usually performed under Preventive Health Check-up:
There are generally different different preventive health checkups set for various age groups that are mentioned below:
Age Group | Preventive Health Checkup |
---|---|
0-10 years | Hearing test, temperature test, eye test. |
Adolescence | LIPID profile test, High blood pressure test, cholesterol test, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea test. |
Adults (20 to 40) | Wight check, LIPID profile test, cholesterol check, BP check, Eye examination. |
After 40 years | BP & Cholesterol testing, Cancer screening, Dental examination, Eye examination, Bone mineral density, Lung cancer screening. |
After 60 years | Bone density test, Depression screening habits, and hearing test. |
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.
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.
Opting for preventive health care services 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:
Most of the investigations during the checkup require you to be on an empty stomach, preferably at least 10 hours of fasting
Wear comfortable and loose clothes for easy manoeuvre
For imaging tests such as CT, X-Ray and Bone Densitometry, avoid wearing accessories, or any metallic objects.
Inform your doctor of any pacemaker or denture beforehand
Be sure to commit to regular checkups with as much of healthy lifestyle modification as possible.
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:
Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS)
Serum Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT)
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Serum Total Cholesterol (T Chol)
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
Serum Creatinine
Serum Triglyceride (S. Trig)
The cost of preventive health checkups for lifestyle diseases, cardiac diseases, cancer etc. has been on the rise. It becomes a very heavy foot to bill, hence it is important to have coverage for these preventive screenings. Some insurance policies do offer coverage for preventive health checkups. Make sure to choose a policy that covers annual preventive screenings.
A preventive body check-up helps in the early detection of diseases. As the age old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Preventive health screenings nip the issues in the bud and reduce the risk of diseases. Early detections also help in making lifestyle changes to aid a healthy life.
As a basic health check-up helps in the early detection of diseases, it makes it easy for the patients to get treated without hospitislisation in most cases. This helps both the insurer and the customer, the insurer doesn’t have to worry about claim settlement and the customer gets the benefit of No-Claim Bonus/No-claim discount.
A preventive health check is a mirror of the lifestyle! It shows how one can enhance their quality of life and keep health issues at bay. It also acts as a guide to make small changes to keep lifestyle diseases like diabetes under control. It gives the person a feeling of empowerment as they can take control of things to stay fit and healthy.
Preventive general 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 doctor check-ups in terms of a person's health, while things like tax benefits can make it to the list of added advantages. Thus, one should opt for a Preventive Health Checkup
Also, read: Health Insurance Plan for Women
The cost of a comprehensive preventive medical check-up package can range from Rs. 1000 to 12999 depending upon the type and number of tests and screenings included.
No, as per law it is not necessary to buy health insurance to avail preventive health check-up or 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.
Individuals who are 30 years of age or older are recommended to begin exploring the option of preventative check-ups. These check-ups are designed to assess your physical well-being, with the goal of detecting a range of illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease or cardiac issues, obesity, and hypertension.
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.
A 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.
Preventive health check-ups are 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.