Obesity is a condition characterized by an increase in the size and amount of fat in the body. The World Health Organization has recognized obesity as a disease and also by several other multinational organizations. According to WHO, obesity is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers etc. The prevalence of obesity in India varies due to age, gender, geographical environment, socio-economic status, etc. According to ICMR-INDIAB study 2015, prevalence rate of obesity and central obesity varies from 11.8% to 31.3% and 16.9%-36.3% respectively
Bariatric surgery is the surgery conducted by the medical practitioners on high cholesterol patients to remove the unwanted fat. This surgery happens in two scenarios: when a person wants to lose weight or in case of a life threatening situation. This surgery is also known as weight reduction surgery where the weight of a person would be removed by removing the excess fat. The excess fat can be reduced by regular exercise and diet but in certain cases the fat would not reduce naturally and requires medical procedures
Bariatric surgery is very costly and ranges between Rs.2 lakhs to Rs.4 lakhs. The affordability of the patient as well as the reputation of the hospital has to be taken into consideration before proceeding for the medical procedure. Bariatric surgery is considered as the cosmetic surgery and is therefore not covered by the health insurance policies where the cost of cosmetic surgeries is excluded. As per the latest guidelines from Insurance regulatory and development authority, bariatric or weight loss surgery will be included under the health insurance policies with effect from 1st October 2019.
Check out the table below with different health insurance plans with Obesity cover from different health insurers in India
Obesity Health Insurance Plan Health Insurance Plan |
Sum Insured (Rs.) |
Entry Age Criteria (yrs.) |
Family Size |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Aditya Birla - Active health insurance plan | 2 lakh - 2 crore | 18 - no max. age limit | (self, spouse, dependent upto 3) | |
United India- Individual health insurance plan | 2 lakh - 20 lakh | 18 - 65 | N/A |
Minimum age at entry- 18 years and no maximum age for entry
The minimum sum insured is Rs.2 lakhs and the maximum sum insured is Rs.2 Crores
The treatment for obesity is covered up to the sum insured mentioned under the policy
Minimum entry age is 18 years and Maximum entry age is
The minimum sum insured is Rs.3 lakhs and the maximum sum insured is Rs.10 Lakhs
Up to Rs.1000 per policy hospitalization for transportation of the insured to the hospital.