HERE’S HOW TO MAKE 2022 YOUR BEST YEAR HEALTH WISE

I belong to a tribe and there our tribe leader asked us to summarise the past year with few words, and I noticed one very popular statement, almost everyone in that tribe fell ill at some point, some fell ill more than three times, well I am part of that few people.

Most Nigerians don’t really know how the Health Maintenance Organisation works, well I’m here to enlighten you but before we talk about the health maintenance organisation, it would be nice to enlighten you on how insurance works.

Insurance na scam, well having been in the insurance sector for almost a year now, I beg to differ, the first month I joined AXA, I saw a payment of 4 million paid to an organisation for the death of one of their staff, emphasis on one, it was a Group Life policy… I won’t talk about how group life works but the thing is this, bad news travels faster, people who got money from insurance won’t tell you because they feel, you would want to rob them or extract the money from them but when insurance doesn’t pay them due to a fault of theirs or that of the insurance company, they spread it like wildfire.

How does insurance works, Insurance is the contract between an insurer and the insured so that whenever the insured encounters a loss that affects them financially they can be indemnified.

Okay the English is long, let me break it so that everyone can understand. The Insurance Company knows that you might have challenges, accidents, asset loss, that you might not have foresaw, so they ask that you give them a sum of money (premium) so that when those unforeseen circumstances come, you don’t have to go through the pain of suffering the loss alone.

Now your health is part of the unforeseen circumstances, we don’t part to be sick but yes our health breaks down so the insurance company/ H.M.O would ask you to pay a little sum of money that would cover for certain health issues when they arise for a period which could be a year.

For instance, Mr B pays ₦49,800 to AXA Mansard and he gets access to over 1200 Hospitals in Nigeria, whenever he is sick, he just walks into any of the 1200 hospitals and they treat him free of charge provided he is not exceeding his limited cover.

However I need to enlighten you on what to look out for when you are purchasing a HMO plan,

1. Most people have a hospital already where they get treatment, and this hospital could be a family hospital or you might have a family doctor there who is aware of your medical history and records, kindly walk to the Customer service in that hospital or their receptionist and ask them for the best HMO plan in that hospital, now this differs and I will explain in my second point below.

2. Finding the best HMO plan can be exhaustive sometimes but then it depends on what you want, most people want a plan that can cover their children so that even in their absence, their children can be taken care of, again the best HMO can also determine the amount of time you’ll be attended to,

In the case of emergency, it isn’t all HMO that would be standby 24/7, however there are some that do, or claim that they do, but the best way to know is by asking the receptionist at the hospital because they are the ones who attend to late night patients so they are in the best position to give you the best answer.

3. Know what your HMO covers, some HMO might be very cheap but they don’t cover so much, just basic drugs and a public ward which is not bad because there are people who don’t fall ill that much, but be reminded that HMO doesn’t cover just sickness, it coves pregnancy, accidents, eye care, ENT, skin care, medical check up, dental care as well etc

Which most people don’t bother to do because again they don’t have the money, it would shock you that some HMO can cover a surgery worth above ₦200,000 but the person paid just below 50,000 and yes be reminded that you’re cover for a full year.

4. There are other items to check for, but I’ll round them up in this point, some HMO cover even foreign countries like India, South Africa, Dubai

Because some HMO know that some ailments can not be treated in Nigeria so they have the roaming option to be treated in other specific countries, again you can buy a HMO in Lagos and fall sick in Abeokuta yet you would still be covered in Abeokuta. HMO gives you the roaming option but you must know the options that your HMO offers

If you do have other questions please drop them and I’ll attend to them.

Hope you found value?

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