Preventive Health Check-Up: Importance, Benefits & Tax Deductions

Modern lifestyle has become so inundated with unhealthy habits and sedentary routines that preventing diseases is now an absolute challenge. That’s why doctors are increasingly recommending regular Preventive Health Checkups to have the best chance at the early detection of diseases and avoiding complications.

Health is defined as a state of physical, mental and social well-being, which can be achieved through a balanced diet, physical exercise and adequate sleep and recreation. However, even after taking all the necessary steps, our health is still at risk of falling prey to diseases unexpectedly. A Preventive Health Checkup is, therefore, aimed to recognize and minimize such risk at an early stage.

Research shows that preventive checkups are an effective means of reducing the financial burden of healthcare by detecting potential health issues before they become critical and require expensive treatments. Therefore, Preventive health examination is undoubtedly the key to live a healthier life.

There are numerous benefits to buying Preventive Health Checkups packages. Therefore, to buy a comprehensive Preventive general checkup package, you need to be aware of its important features. Some of these features are listed below:

Ideally, a person at age 30 and beyond should opt for Preventive Medical Check-up. It is used to screen and detect an umbrella of lifestyle diseases, of which the most important ones are:

Increased stress and lack of time for physical exercise and healthful cooking are the major contributors to developing unhealthy habits. This leads to subsequent and gradual deterioration of our general health, and before we know it, lifestyle diseases come knocking at our door. 

What’s worse is that some of these lifestyle diseases are ‘silent killers’- they harm our body without causing any symptoms. Therefore, Preventive Health Check-up can help a person timely screen these diseases. For example, retinopathy and foot ulcers are common complications of diabetes. With annual eye and foot examinations, you can prevent vision loss and lower-limb amputations. Similarly, it is crucial to control blood pressure and blood cholesterol to alleviate the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Another important purpose of Preventive full health check-up is the surveillance of cancer. Many cancers are symptomless and not diagnosing them at an early stage can cost lives. Therefore, people at risk of developing cancer can have a better chance of recovery if they invest in regular health checkups.

The following routine checkup tests are usually performed under Preventive Health Check-up:

There are generally different different preventive health checkups set for various age groups that are mentioned below:

You have a great opportunity of enjoying tax exemption of Rs. 5000 on Preventive Health Checkup under Section 80D of Income Tax Act, 1961 enacted by the Government of India.

Also, read: How To Claim Tax Benefits on Health Insurance Premiums?

Under Section 80D, you can claim an overall deduction of Rs. 25,000 on the expenses of Preventive Health Checkups either for yourself, your spouse or your dependent children. You can also claim an additional deduction of up to Rs. 25,000 for insurance of your parents, aged less than 60 years. If the parents are above 60 years, the amount allowed to be deducted is Rs, 50,000, (increased from Rs. 30,000 in Budget 2018). If both the taxpayer and his/her parents above 60 years old, the maximum available deduction is up to Rs.1 lakh.

Opting for preventive health care services regularly allows you to stay ahead of a medical issue which can be in its early stages. In many unfortunate cases, the disease is not detected until it reaches a dangerous stage and treatment may not have the desired impact. This can be avoided with regular screening.

Here is a list of things you can consider while going in for a check-up:

Preventive Health Checkups are extremely important in reinforcing healthy lifestyle changes and motivating yourself and your family members. With ACKO's health insurance, you will get an option to get a complete medical examination by a medical practitioner under Preventive Health Check-up. 

The comprehensive expert guidance provided during a health checkup can go a long way in supporting your well-being at any age, along with giving you the chance to receive treatments at a more favourable stage.

The following tests are included in ACKO Health Insurance Preventive Check-up:

The cost of preventive health checkups for lifestyle diseases, cardiac diseases, cancer etc. has been on the rise. It becomes a very heavy foot to bill, hence it is important to have coverage for these preventive screenings. Some insurance policies do offer coverage for preventive health checkups. Make sure to choose a policy that covers annual preventive screenings. 

A preventive body check-up helps in the early detection of diseases. As the age old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Preventive health screenings nip the issues in the bud and reduce the risk of diseases. Early detections also help in making lifestyle changes to aid a healthy life. 

As a basic health check-up helps in the early detection of diseases, it makes it easy for the patients to get treated without hospitislisation in most cases. This helps both the insurer and the customer, the insurer doesn’t have to worry about claim settlement and the customer gets the benefit of No-Claim Bonus/No-claim discount. 

A preventive health check is a mirror of the lifestyle! It shows how one can enhance their quality of life and keep health issues at bay. It also acts as a guide to make small changes to keep lifestyle diseases like diabetes under control. It gives the person a feeling of empowerment as they can take control of things to stay fit and healthy.

Preventive general health checkup is an early detection tool which helps you keep updated with the changes that your body undergoes as you age. While sometimes a person can show signs and symptoms of a disease, in most cases, they go undetected without regular check-ups. Early detection is one of the major benefits of preventive doctor check-ups in terms of a person's health, while things like tax benefits can make it to the list of added advantages. Thus, one should opt for a Preventive Health Checkup

Also, read: Health Insurance Plan for Women