annaul health checkup in group health insurance

Annual Health Checkups for Employees in Group Health Insurance Plan

Onsurity Editorial
November 25, 2024
11 min read

Table of Contents

Why Should You Include Annual Health Checkup In Group Health Insurance Plan?

The need for preventive care among individuals is yet to be actualised in the Indian healthcare landscape. According to a recent survey conducted by Onsurity, almost 84% of respondents didn’t opt for diagnostic tests until they were sick or their doctor recommended it.

This kind of negligence often gives rise to chronic health problems like – cancer, cardiovascular diseases, stress-related, and respiratory diseases. Having a full body checkup every year can reduce fatal outcomes and create more feasible treatment pathways. Interestingly, the group health insurance plan often includes annual health checkups. The benefit can be complimentary or can be added as a benefit by the employer.

Getting health checkups done annually can help in many ways. Be it with early detection of disease, improved quality of life, or lower cost of healthcare, regular diagnosis can be a valuable tool in navigating the unpredictable nature of life.

Additionally, by regularly monitoring your health, you can reduce absenteeism at the workplace. This is a factor that employers should also take into account while customising group health insurance policies for their teams. Healthy employees are not only more productive but are also more proactive.

Before we dive into how the annual health checkup benefit works, let’s first understand what is group health insurance and how it is beneficial.

What Is Group Health Insurance?

Group health insurance is a blanket policy often taken to cover the healthcare expenses of a group. Typically, this kind of insurance policy is purchased by the employer, for the employees of an organisation.

Employees and their immediate family members can make use of their employer-sponsored health insurance policy with features like – coverage for pre and post-hospitalisation expenses, maternity and neonatal cover, annual health checkups, pre-existing disease cover, and more.

The premium of group health insurance is lower than that of an individual health insurance policy. Additionally, the employer can get tax exemption on purchasing a group insurance policy under the Income Tax Act of Section 80C. In addition to this, employers can enjoy various other benefits such as – attracting and retaining top talent, boosting employee morale and productivity, and brand building.

All in all, a group health insurance policy is an essential cover that employers should provide to their employees to ensure a thriving workplace and safeguard their teams from the high costs of healthcare. While we are addressing the benefits of a group health insurance policy, let’s talk more about one particular benefit that is extremely valuable in preventive care, i.e. – annual health checkups.

What is An Annual Health Checkup?

An annual health checkup is a full-body evaluation of a person’s heart health, organ health, metabolism rate, etc. It also includes the monitoring of various other health parameters such as – blood sugar level, blood pressure, and vaccination schedule.

The evaluation is designed to identify potential risks and underlying health conditions before they become chronic or severe. A typical comprehensive health checkup includes the following tests:

ECG Test
Liver Function (LFT) & Kidney Function (KFT) Test
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Blood Pressure Test
Vitamin Deficiency Test
Blood Sugar Level Test
X-Ray & Ultrasound
Lipid Profile Test
Urine Test
Serology/Blood Serum Test

In addition to the aforementioned test, an annual health checkup also includes basic vital checks (for example – body temperature and BMI) and personalised counselling and guidance from a medical practitioner.

These checkups are generally completed within a few hours and are non-invasive yet manageable. An annual health checkup is an essential tool in managing your lifestyle and physical health. It’s a highly undervalued form of self-care that one can indulge in. Let’s elaborate on the significance of an annual health checkup to better understand how valuable it is.

Quick read: Online Lab Tests With Onsurity

The Growing Significance of Annual Health Checkups

The rising demand for critical care in India is propelling healthcare costs and resulting in medical inflation. At 14%, India’s medical inflation is the highest in Asia, beating China. As a result, a whopping 71% of people are at financial risk due to the increasing out-of-pocket medical bills.

This is also putting preventive care on the back burner as people are focused on tackling more immediate medical needs. However, ignoring preventive care has serious ramifications beyond personal health. Here are a few reasons why one should add annual health checkups to their schedules pronto:

1. Improved Quality of Life

Having routine checks in place can eliminate lifestyle diseases that are extremely common in India, some of these are – high blood pressure or hypertension, diabetes, obesity, etc. A lot of these health conditions are likely to result in serious health complications thereby reducing your quality of life. Having a proper monitoring and control mechanism in place is crucial in combating them.

2. Lowered Healthcare Costs

Annually getting health checkups done can most definitely lower medical expenses. With the healthcare costs rising, the burden of disease and treatment on out-of-pocket expenses is increasing too. This can be mitigated by regularly monitoring your health and well-being. A full-body checkup every year can signal any potential threats and allow you to tackle them at the point of inception.

3. Early Detection of Diseases

It’s no news that prevention is the best cure and timely detection is your best fighting chance. Kicking a disease to the curb at the earliest not only prevents you and your loved ones from a chronic outcome but also significantly helps with timely recovery.

In the last few years, India has recorded the highest rate of respiratory diseases and cancer, both of which have fatal mortality rates. Getting regularly tested helps in identifying any cautionary signs early on and prepares you better for treatment and recovery.

4. Improved Work Productivity

By being at your physical and mental best you can also improve your productivity at work and reduce absenteeism. Many studies have recorded that employees have the highest levels of productivity when they are healthy and thriving mentally. It also positively reflects on the business growth of the organisations.

Also read: Importance of Preventive Health Checkups for Elders

Annual Health Checkups In Group Health Insurance

Adding annual health checkups into group health insurance not only improves the health of employees but also offers various advantages to both employers and employees. Let’s look at some of these benefits.

Annual Health Checkup Benefits For The Employers

1. Enhanced Productivity

Businesses with healthier teams report higher levels of productivity. So, employers should encourage and motivate their employees to get regularly monitored and they can attain this by introducing annual health checkups in the group health insurance policy.

2. Reduced Long-Term Costs

By introducing regular health checkups among employees, employers can create a health-first and people-first mindset. This also encourages employees to be more committed to their jobs and therefore more loyal. This significantly reduces attrition and increases productivity. Both of these outcomes contribute to business growth and result in reduced long-term costs to business.

3. Fewer Claims

Early detection of disease and better health management contribute to fewer employees filing for large medical claims, thus helping to keep group insurance premiums more stable.

Annual Health Checkup Benefits For the Employees

1. Access To Preventive Healthcare

Typically, an annual health checkup per person costs anywhere between Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 8,000, depending on the inclusions. However, you can avail it at no personal cost through your employer-sponsored health insurance.

Most group health insurance plans come with the annual health checkup benefit for the primary policyholder and occasionally for the immediate family members of the policyholder.

2. Better Health Awareness

A large number of people in India do not pay much importance to preventive healthcare and therefore do not possess a better clarity of their well-being. This lack of awareness results in poor lifestyle choices and long-term health conditions, impacting the overall quality of life. By getting health checkups done annually, you can make more proactive decisions and actions in safeguarding your life.

3. Early Diagnosis and Treatment

Having annual health checkups can warrant early diagnosis and treatment of diseases, resulting in improved quality of life and reduced mortality rate.

How To Integrate Annual Health Checkups With Group Health Insurance?

If you are a business owner or a key decision maker for your team and you have realised the potential benefits of adding annual health checkups to the mix then here are a few ways you can go about it…

1. Identify And Partner With The Right Insurance Provider

To get the most suitable group health insurance policy plus benefits for your team, you will need to partner with an insurance provider that offers you better flexibility, more customisations, and dedicated support at a reasonable cost. A new-age insurance provider like Onsurity offers your team a health and wellness plan that is customised just for your business, and available on a monthly subscription basis.

A dedicated support team and a highly intuitive Teamsure dashboard are at your disposal to ensure you effortlessly manage group health benefits and claims, easily add or remove team members, and stay on top of things at all times without spending too much of your valuable time.

2. Customise Benefits For Your Team

Understand the demographic and health profile of your team to build a customised health and wellness benefits plan. For example – a team with younger members (average team age – 35) will benefit from a plan that includes fitness, basic health screening, and mental well-being. However, a team with older members (average team age – 40) will benefit from a more comprehensive plan that includes cardiovascular and cancer screenings.

3. Eligibility Criteria

Different group health insurance plans offer different benefits so it’s essential to understand the eligibility criteria for annual health checkups of the specific plan that you have opted for. In certain cases, benefits like annual checkups can only be utilised upon continuous coverage. So, make sure to check with your insurance provider about the plan benefits, inclusions, and utilisation details.

4. Limitations and Exclusions

Annual health checkups in group health insurance may come with some limitations as they are not curated for individuals but a group with varied needs. Certain tests may not be included in this benefit and understanding the exclusions beforehand can be helpful during medical emergencies.

Suggested read: Exclusions in Group Health Insurance

Creating Awareness On Preventive Healthcare For Improved Outcomes

Preventive healthcare is an approach that focuses on taking proactive measures and building healthier lifestyle habits to strengthen a person’s physical and mental health. A healthy mind and body are less susceptible to illness and ailments. Additionally, healthy individuals are more likely to contribute positively to their jobs.

Employers should place greater emphasis on creating awareness around the role of preventive healthcare in building a thriving workplace. They can do so in some of the ways mentioned below.

1. Educating Employees

Be it the group health insurance policy or the role of health checkup; employees generally don’t look into either until a medical emergency has befallen them.

The more employees know about their policy benefits, the more likely they are to make use of it. Employers can shed more light on the benefits and inclusions of the group health insurance plan by setting up awareness sessions at work. Educating employees about healthcare and prevention also builds a sense of proactiveness among them.

2. Conducting Health Camps At Work

By setting up health camps and wellness programs at work, employers can create opportunities for employees to first-hand experience the benefits of preventive care. These initiatives can further promote the importance of overall well-being.

To sum it up, adding annual health checkups to group health insurance is not merely a strategic move that benefits employers. But it also helps the employees in building a healthier lifestyle and reducing their healthcare costs. Incorporating annual health checkups into the group health insurance plan can build a more productive and vibrant workplace, the outcome of which is the employer reaping long-term rewards in both financial and human terms.

Introducing Onsurity’s Comprehensive Health and Wellness Plan

Talking about building vibrant workplaces is almost synonymous with getting Onsurity’s comprehensive health and wellness plan for your team. At Onsurity, healthcare is holistic and can include – discounted medicines, health checkups, mental health, dental care, maternity benefits along with group health insurance, group term life insurance, and group personal accident insurance. Moreover, the plan can be customised to suit the needs of your team.

Give your team the assurance of good health with an Onsurity membership and get billed monthly with subscriptions starting at just Rs. 145 per employee.

Book A Demo with Onsurity

FAQs:

1. Why should companies include annual health checkups in their group health insurance plan?

Adding annual health checkups to the group health insurance plan can result in improved employee well-being, reduced absenteeism at work, lower healthcare costs, stable insurance premiums, and enhanced job satisfaction among employees.

2. Is an annual health checkup included in all group insurance plans?

Most insurance providers offer annual health checkups as a complimentary service in the group health insurance plans but in the rare cases they don’t provide it the employers have the option to purchase it as an additional benefit to the policy. At Onsurity, health and wellness benefits can be customised as per your team’s requirements.

3. Will availing the health checkup impact my health insurance coverage?

Availing an annual health checkup typically does not impact your sum insured. However, there can be a frequency capping or benefit accessibility with only the network hospitals. In case of frequency capping, you can check with your insurance provider regarding the number of times or the type of tests you can get within your policy coverage.

4. Do I need to pay for an annual health checkup under my group health insurance policy?

In the case of group health insurance, you can check with your employer regarding the availability of the annual health checkup benefit. If it is included in your policy then you don’t have to pay for it unless you are getting tested for something that is not included in your coverage. However, if your employer has not added an annual health checkup as a benefit to the health insurance policy then you will have to pay out-of-pocket for the tests. Introduce your employer to Onsurity’s cost-effective health and wellness group membership.

5. Is it compulsory to avail the group health insurance annual health checkup?

No, it is not mandatory to avail the annual health checkup from your group health insurance policy. However, it is highly beneficial to get monitored frequently. You can detect diseases early on, make essential lifestyle changes, and proactively lead a healthier life.

6. How do annual health checkups impact employee productivity?

Annual health checkups are the best way to flag potential health concerns and tackle them before they get critical. Healthier employees are less likely to miss work and are more productive. When employees get annual health checkups as a complimentary service, they are more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction and can ultimately be more dedicated to their work.

7. Are there any cost savings associated with including health checkups in health insurance?

Getting health checkups done regularly can prevent individuals from getting critically ill. Due to medical inflation, the cost of healthcare is significantly high so any long-term health concern can put people at financial risk as it adds burden on out-of-pocket expenses. You can prevent yourself and your loved ones from health risks by getting a health checkup done routinely, at least once every year. By eliminating critical health situations you can also eliminate healthcare expenses associated with them.

8. What type of tests are typically included in an annual health checkup?

An annual health checkup is a full-body evaluation of a person’s heart health, organ health, metabolism rate, etc. It also includes various tests like – ECG, Liver and kidney function test, complete blood count, blood pressure test, vitamin deficiency test, blood sugar level test, lipid profile, etc.

9. How can employers encourage employees to take advantage of annual health checkups?

Employers can build a proactive culture among their teams by creating more awareness. They can educate their employees about the importance of preventive healthcare by taking team sessions and conducting health camps at work.