8th September 2010

Restriced Services and your health insurance policy

Don’t be confused.

If you have been periodically browsing through newspapers around the country lately, you may have noticed that some health insurers have been changing their policy structures.

The reason behind the changes has been blamed on two words commonly used in health insurance: “Restricted Services”. A number of health insurers have been dropping “restricted services” off their policies because they claim the term to be too confusing for their members. However, if you understand how Restricted Services work and you have a policy that employs these services, you should feel at ease knowing that you have the choice of options if you need them.

Restricted Services in reference to Health Insurance refers to items to which the insurer does not pay all expenses to a member if they choose to be admitted to a private hospital.

Phoenix Health Fund has Restricted Services on their YoungSavers product but does make members purchasing the product aware of the non-comprehensive nature of the product. YoungSavers offers Medical Gap Cover in a Private Hospital setting for Doctors’ fees for all medical items but only provides limited payments out of those expenses accrued for a restricted item during a hospital stay, such as accommodation fees.

Restricted Services means that members can receive private treatment from a doctor without paying a full premium. One of the most important and expensive factors in hospital expenses is doctor’s fees. If covering doctor’s fees at a reduced rate is your priority and you are still uncertain as to how this can be done, call our friendly team on Freecall 1800 028 817 for more information.