Is Black Fungus covered in your health insurance policy?

The current ongoing Covid-19 pandemic stirred each one of us. A new disease "mucormycosis", also known as "black fungus" is a new infection and it is worsening the plight.

Many state governments have declared black fungus as a new pandemic and began taking preventive steps to shield the population. The Central Govt. has asked all the State Governments to make Black Fungus a notifiable disease, and many states have followed the request by already declaring it a notifiable disease.

They equipped government hospitals to combat black fungus and private hospitals are also providing effective treatments for this disease. As you are aware of the fact that, the treatment cost is very high for a private hospital, and treatment for black fungus is no exemption.

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In the current scenario, it is very important to be aware of your Health insurance coverage for black fungus. So that in case of hospitalization, you will be well prepared to meet the expenses. Here is everything you require to understand about Black fungus coverage in your existing health insurance plan.

Mucormycosis or Black fungus is a disease caused by a fungal infection. This is a rare but possibly fatal disease. A group of molds, called "mucormycetes" is the cause. It infects individuals when inhaling fungal spores naturally abundant in the Indian environment and soil. Diabetes and a high dose of steroids are the stimuli for this disease.

It will relieve you to learn that Mucormycosis or Black Fungus is not an exclusion in your health insurance policy. This denotes that black fungus is inbuilt and covered in your regular plan. You require no separate insurance plan for this disease.

Many health insurance plans offered by state governments also cover black fungus. The Rajasthan government declared that black fungus is covered in its flagship Chiranjeevi Yojna insurance.

Maharashtra and other states also geared up to include black fungus in their state health insurance schemes. This is an excellent step for the poor population. IRDA asked insurance companies to relax rules for Covid and related diseases. Insurance companies are adopting liberal outlook in settlement of covid and allied claims.

It requires no extraordinary procedure to claim insurance protection when you suffer from Black fungus. Likewise, for other diseases, you need to fulfill the existing terms and conditions of your insurance policy.

You may take the help of your insurance agent to understand the terms and conditions enshrined in your policy. If you are afraid that you are not fully cognizant of all the terms and conditions of your insurance policy, at least follow the common procedure in the event of contacting black fungus.

1. Immediately intimate to insurance company in case of hospitalization for black fungus
2. Request for pre-approval of hospitalization costs
3. Make sure that cashless facility is available in your hospital and it has a tie-up with your Health insurance TPA.
4. Your hospitalization should be for at least 24 hours or more
5. The hospital must have at least 5 or more beds.
6. In case of no cashless facility, keep all the hospital bills, pharmaceutical receipts, doctor prescriptions, pre and post hospitalisation bill/prescriptions/receipts to claim reimbursement from the insurance company
7. Do not hide any information in the claim form
8. Prepare all the requisite documents in the dual set and keep one set with you.

For the question that, is Black Fungus covered under the Health insurance plan?, the quick answer is "Yes". If they cover you in a health insurance plan, you do not need to worry about medical expenses incurred during treatment for black fungus.

It is not an excluded peril and by default covered in your health insurance plan. You only need to take care of fulfilling the necessary terms and conditions of your existing health insurance plans.

Many Insurance companies, taking a liberal view in settling insurance claims for Covid and related claims. Remember, that black fungus is also a covid related disease and insurance companies are always there to help you in this pandemic.