Ageing parents? Employer health plans offer a way in

At 30% lower cost, employer plans often skip health checks or cover pre-existing conditions

- Sashind Ningthoukhongjam

Getting health cover for ageing parents can be a tough balance—high premiums, limited coverage, and rigid terms. Even after paying more, long waits and co-pay clauses can limit benefits. But for many young professionals, the employer's group health plan is stepping in—often skipping medical tests and pre-existing condition exclusions, though not without its own risks.

Employer cover to the rescue Take Reetika Sharma. She and her husband managed to cover both their parents under his employer-provided health plan. It proved a financial lifesaver—her 56-year-old mother's angioplasty cost ₹2.8 lakh, and her 62-year-old mother-in-law's uterus surgery cost ₹1.43 lakh. Both were fully covered.

The insurer accepted both sets of parents despite health issues—hypertension in one, diabetes and respiratory problems in the other.

They paid ₹8,145 each for base cover of ₹3 lakh (with 70% of it subsidised by the employer) and added ₹2 lakh top-ups by paying ₹12,160 each. In all, they spent ₹40,600 for ₹10 lakh total cover—₹5 lakh each for her parents and in-laws. The top-up wasn't subsidised.