You will come across these terms as you proceed to buy a health insurance plan for yourself or your loved ones. A health insurance plan always keeps you secure against any instances of hospitalisation. But whether you decide to get hospitalised in a network hospital or a non-network one, both decisions have a great bearing on your claim settlement. Want to know more about network and non-network hospitals? Here you go!
What Do You Mean By Network Hospitals? What Are Its Key Benefits?
Every insurance company ropes in certain hospitals, medical professionals, and clinics, keeping in mind the payouts that they need to make to the policyholders when they get hospitalised. This network of hospitals helps the insurance providers in lowering the fee that they pay to the policyholders. Hospitals, on the other hand, benefit from the steady stream of patients who get channeled to them through insurance providers.
If you have already bought a health insurance policy or are yet to buy a plan, then you should enquire about the number of hospitals that are present in the network of the insurance company. Higher the number of network hospitals, the easier the hopsitalisation process gets when a loved one gets ill.
The key benefit of seeking admission in one of the network hospitals is that you won’t have to pay for the treatment expenses from your pocket. The insurance company will take care of the hospitalisation and other medical facilities as per the coverage you have opted for in your health insurance policy.
What Are Non-network Hospitals & Their Major Benefits?
If your insurance company has not included a specific hospital in its network, then this particular hospital will come under the category of non-network hospitals.
The key benefit of seeking admission in non-network hospitals is that you need not go extra miles to search for a cashless network hospital. If a non-network hospital is nearby your location, you can easily get the patient admitted there. But in this case, you will have to pay for the expenses from your own pocket initially. Later on, you can get the amount reimbursed as per your health insurance policy.
Differences Between Network and Non-Network Hospitals
| Parameters | Network Hospital | Non-Network Hospital |
| Cashless Treatment | A network hospital always offers you a cashless treatment facility. The health insurance company will settle the amount directly with the cashless hospital according to the insurance plan. | Non-network hospitals do not offer cashless treatment facilities. You will have to pay for each of the expenses from day 1. You can claim reimbursement later on. |
| Paperwork | Network hospitals involve minimal paperwork and documentation. | In the case of a non-network hospital, you will have to be careful enough to keep every bill, invoice, report, etc. in a secure manner. If you fail to submit any one paper to the insurance company, then they can easily reject your claim. |
| Ease of hospitalisation | When you have a health card issued by an insurance company, you can get seamless and swift admission to any cashless network hospital. | When you visit any non-network hospital, you will have to go through multiple formalities that may lead to delays in treatment. |
Which Is The Best Choice Among These Two?
As it is evident from the above comparison, it is always better to go to a network hospital if you have a health insurance plan. You won’t have to worry about cash and there will be less paperwork involved. The patient can also get premium treatment facilities as per the plan you have chosen. Seeking admission to a non-network hospital is justifiable only in case of an emergency. During health urgencies, it is not logical to travel far to get admitted to any of the network hospitals.
Wrapping up!
Now that you know the significance of network hospitals over non-network hospitals, make sure you know about all the cashless hospitals enlisted in your life insurance plan. You can make a note of the top 3 cashless network hospitals that are at proximity to your place. Also, it is ideal to make your loved ones aware of these details, so that in case of any emergency, they can make a well-informed decision.
