Health insurance is almost universal in a country like the US while only a very small segment of population is covered in India. Compared to the premium charged in India, an average citizen in the US pays much higher premium probably because of the high cost of hospitalization and medicines there. The recent health care programs signed into law in the US makes health insurance almost universal. Insurance companies are paying out higher amounts to their beneficiaries year after year because of more incidences of health disorders experienced by the population due to many reasons. A pro-active policy to help the population to improve their food habits and consequently reduce incidences of life style disorders can help the insurance companies to bring down the expenditure on pay out on medical claims and improve their business prospects.
"The UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurers, is teaming up with the Y.M.C.A. and retail pharmacies to try a new approach to one of the nation's most serious and expensive medical problems: Type 2 diabetes. Rather than simply continuing to pay ever-higher medical claims to care for its diabetic customers, UnitedHealth is paying the Y.M.C.A. and pharmacists to keep people healthier. The result, they hope, will be lower costs and lower premiums for everyone".
Basing the premium charged to the insured on the basis of age, is most frequently followed by all companies. While children and youngsters pay very small amounts as premium for a certain coverage, those beyond 60 years of age are either denied insurance or charged exorbitantly which is indeed a paradox! A different parameter that may be more appropriate is the Body Mass Index or BMI for a normal person with no previous disease history, lower BMI subscribers being charged much less than others. As a person with BMI less than 20 is unlikely to be a candidate for any major illness, the annual premium can be 20-25% cheaper while those beyond 25 can be charged extra.
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