News about high hospital bills in lakhs of Corona patients has been all over the media. One way to prepare for medical expenses is to have a health insurance policy. New short term health insurance plans meant for Covid-19 related hospital expenses, called Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Rakshak Policy have been introduced. The article looks at Cost of COVID treatment, Covid Tests Antibody and RT-PCR, Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak policies in detail, Difference between Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak Policy.
Sample Corona Virus Hospital bill
Table of Contents
Cost of COVID Tests, Treatment
The medical treatment of Covid-19 is slightly different from the treatment of other ailments. There are many non-medical expenses like gloves, PPE’s, masks, oximeters, oxygen cylinders, nebulisers, AYUSH treatment etc. Such non-medical expenses are either disallowed or partially allowed under regular health insurance policies.
There are two types of tests for COVID-19, tests for antibodies(blood tests) and tests for the virus, RT-PCR test ( throat and nasal swab). Antibody test costs Rs. 500 and gives result in 20-30 minutes and are not 100 per cent reliable. RT-PCR test costs Rs 4500 and gives results in 4-9 hours. The ICMR has advised antibody testing as “supplementary” to RT-PCR testing.
The treatment cost of COVID 19 patients varies from state to state whether it is in the private or the public sector medical facility. COVID-19 hospital care does not cost anything at all in some states like Kerala while others have to pay depending on the rooms they prefer while admitted to hospitals. Some have to pay more depending on the severity of their complications.
Features of Corona Kavach, Corona Rakshak
- There is a waiting period of 15 days. So a person who has already tested positive will not get benefit from the policy.
- These are short term policies. You can take them for a period of 3.5 months, 6.5 months and 9.5 months
- One can take this policy for ages between 18-65 years.
- No medical examination is required to purchase this policy. People with co-morbidity can also be covered by paying an additional premium. Morbidity means illness or disease. Comorbidity simply means more than one illness or disease occurring in one person at the same time. Common comorbid conditions are heart disease, hypertension, respiratory disease, mental health problems (including dementia), cerebrovascular disease, joint disease, diabetes and sensory impairment.
- Medical treatment expenses of patients who were either home quarantined or treated in COVID care centres are not covered. You need to be hospitalized if you want to claim benefits from Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak policy.
- Corona Kavach comes with an optional cover of daily cash benefit of 0.5 per cent of the sum assured during the period of hospitalisation subject to a maximum of 15 days.
- Corona Kavach can be availed for self, spouse, parents, parents-in-law, and dependent children with up to 25 years of age.
Differences between Corona Kavach, Corona Rakshak
| Description | Corona Kavach | Corona Rakshak |
| Requirement | hospitalized for 24 hours | hospitalized for 72 hours |
| Type of Plan | Individual and
Family Floater (up to 10 family members) |
Individual |
| How much | The claim is paid as per the hospital bills(indemnity plan) | Entire sum insured is paid(Benefit plan) |
| Sum Insured | Rs 50,000 to 5 lakhs | Rs 50,000 to 2.5 lakhs |
| Covers | Hospitalization, expenses towards PPE’s, masks, gloves, oximeters, oxygen cylinders, nebulisers, AYUSH treatment etc | Lump-sum on diagnosis and Hospitalization |
Comparing Corona Kavach policy offered
Though the policy features are the same across health insurers, there’s a difference in the premiums.
IRDAI has mandated a 5% discount for all healthcare workers. A few companies are also offering discounts on the aggregate premium for family floater plans and if the plan is bought online without the involvement of an intermediary
Mint analyzed the premiums of Corona Kavach policy shared by insurers across age groups and the comparison is shown below.Future Generali India Insurance Co. Ltd & public sector insurers such as Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd and United India Insurance Co. have priced it at the lower end of the spectrum, whereas Go Digit General Insurance Ltd is at the higher end. The image below shows the premiums
Compare premium Corona Kavach from different Insurers
Should one buy Corona Kavach or Corona Rakshak if one has Health Insurance?
Corona Kavach or Corona Rakshak policies are not a substitute for a comprehensive health cover.
If you already have a basic health plan, you don’t need to buy these because your existing plan will cover the treatment and hospitalisation of all diseases, including Covid-19
But if you already have a health insurance policy, you can purchase these policy(s) as a supplementary cover.
In case you do not have basic health cover, this policy can help provide specific cover with regards to any medical expenses towards the treatment of COVID-19, at an affordable price.
Types Of Covid-19 Tests
There are two types of tests for COVID-19, tests for antibodies(blood tests) and tests for the virus, RT-PCR test ( throat and nasal swab).
A coronavirus test, RT-PCR, looks for signs of active virus. It’s simpler and faster than an antibody test. But it tells you only if you have the virus in your body at the moment when you’re tested.
An antibody test shows that you had the virus at some point in the past. It could be gone, or you could still be contagious.
The Health Ministry has announced that RT-PCR( real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) is the ‘gold standard’ frontline test for COVID-19. This came into effect after the rapid antibody tests showed unreliable results.
Antibody Test For COVID-19
Antibody tests use a few drops of blood to determine whether the human body has antibodies for coronavirus. Antibodies are proteins produced by a human body and your body makes these when it fights infection, like COVID-19. The same thing happens when you get a vaccine. That’s how you build immunity to a virus.
Antibody tests, also called serological tests, have usually been the time-tested approach to finding out the presence of a virus in the body. They do so by detecting the presence and quantity of antibodies that are produced by the immune system to battle an infection. It is an indirect test because it cannot find the virus, but it can determine if the immune system has encountered it.
Antibody test costs Rs. 500 and gives result in 20-30 minutes. But testing for anti-body can be misleading in the first week of infection. From the day of contracting the virus to day 7, an individual will start showing the symptoms of COVID-19 and may start infecting others as well but even after repetitive tests, there is a possibility antibody test will give a false negative. The reason being, antibodies take eight days to develop and actually appear. Antibody test will give accurate results from the eighth day of being infected.
The test looks for one or both kinds of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19:
- IgM antibodies, which happen early in an infection
- IgG antibodies, which are more likely to show up later
Most people have IgG antibodies about 14 days after symptoms start. They usually stay in your blood long after the infection goes away, but we don’t know how long that is for the new coronavirus.
RT-PCR and NAT Tests For COVID-19
For testing the virus, there are two kinds of tests available – RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and NAT (Nucleic Acid Test). Both tests require a nasal and throat swab. Though NAT test has been approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration), currently, in India, RT-PCR is being followed for the diagnosis of COVID-19.
A sample is collected from deep inside your nose and the back of your throat with a swab. The sample is then treated with chemical solutions that remove proteins and fats, leaving only the RNA(ribonucleic acid) present in the sample. The sample is then sent to the laboratory for analysis where an RT-PCR machine is used to detect the virus, checking if it shares the same genetic sequence as the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
If it is a match, the sample is deemed positive. The only way such tests turn negative is if the actual sample does not have the virus or the swab was not properly administered and too little of the virus was gleaned.
Both NAT and RT-PCR test lookout for virus hence they give positive results from day one.
Cost of RT-PCR test is around Rs 4500 and gives results in 5-9 hours.
Video on What are the different types of tests of Covid 19?
This 3-minute video explains, What is an antibody test? And, what is an RT-PCR test?
CoronaVirus Treatment Costs in India
The outbreak of the pandemic has put into the focus shortage of healthcare facilities in India. This shortage, coupled with the rising number of cases, has led to sky-high COVID-19 treatment cost.
The treatment cost varies from state to state whether it is in the private or the public sector medical facility. COVID-19 hospital care does not cost anything at all in some states like Kerala while others have to pay depending on the rooms they prefer while admitted to hospitals. Some have to pay more depending on the severity of their complications.
Firstpost COVID-19 treatment: From affordable public hospitals to expensive private care, what it costs to treat a patient in India covers the costs of treatment in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Mumbai, Delhi
As per AegonLife Cost of COVID Treatment in India
The cost of bed/room rent for COVID treatment in private hospitals are:
- An isolation bed is ₹8,000 – ₹10, 000 per day
- ICU with a ventilator is ₹15,000 -₹18,000 per day
- ICU without a ventilator is ₹13,000 – ₹15,000 per day
The total COVID-19 treatment cost in private hospitals sums up to:
- ₹24,000 – ₹25,000 for isolation
- ₹34,000 – ₹43,000 for ICU without a ventilator
- ₹44,000 – ₹54,000 for ICU with a ventilator.
The AHPI(Association of Healthcare Providers (India)), representing a majority of hospitals in the country, after discussion with the office bearers of its 21 State Chapter came out with suggestive cost for treatment of COVID-19 patients in private hospitals, which are not covered under an agreement with a government-run scheme; Central or state.
Suggested Hospital Costs for Covid Treatment in Private Hospitals
Even while everyone is wishing and praying for the COVID-19 crisis to pass, the hard truth is it might last longer than expected.
