Chemist gets a taste of his own medicine!

Chemist gets a taste of his own medicine, fills a prescription for himself!

Mumbai: Critically ill Mukesh Jhanjhani, 51, has been forced to keep his pharmacy open despite being diagnosed with Fulminant Hepatitis, also known as Acute Liver Failure, in October 2013. Despite the illness, Jhanjhani opted to continue working and save money for his children’s education and also for the orthotopic liver transplantation despite having a medical insurance. “I have a 20 year old daughter who will be getting married later this year and a 14 year old son who wants to be an engineer. I don’t want to use all my savings for my medical bills; I have an education loan for my son and daughter’s wedding expenses to take care of! The EMIs are a burden. My wife is busy looking after my kids and me and everything else. Who will bring me money?,” complained Jhanjhani. [caption id=“attachment_137671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Smart Health Critical Illness Insurance policy offers lump sum compensation that can help in meeting day-to-day expenses and covering hospitalization costs[/caption] This story is a hypothetical story and Jhanjhani’s account an unreal one. However, many people face this situation in real life due to the lack of awareness of how health insurance policy can also help with the payment of day to day expenses. According to a recent report, health insurance has penetrated India at astonishingly low sub 15 percent. As per the report, to most people today, health insurance translates to merely covering hospitalization/medical treatment costs. A major illness always accompanies large costs for medical care which eventually puts immense pressure on the family to manage their living expenses while the patient recoups. While this is fine for an illness that can be cured in the short term, what happens when an individual is rendered incapable of living a normal life due to incidence of a critical illness for an extended period of time? Besides the hospitalization/medical treatment expenses that he/she would have to meet, other financial commitments like EMIs, children’s school fees, credit card expenses etc also suffer as the individual is unable to go to work and earn a regular income. To offer a solution in this scenario, Bharti AXA has launched an awareness campaign around its innovative critical illness product – the Smart Health Critical Illness Insurance policy that offers lump sum compensation that can help in meeting day-to-day expenses and covering hospitalization costs. Bharti AXA Gi’s Smart Health Critical Illness Insurance policy not only covers hospitalization expenses but also provides one with lump sum compensation that can help the family meet day to day expenses. It provides cover for 20 critical illnesses through which - upon diagnosis and a survival period of 30 days, it pays a lump sum compensation equivalent to the sum insured of your plan - Rs. 2 lakhs, Rs. 3 lakhs or Rs. 5 lakhs. Policy buyers can use this money as they wish, to cover their medical bills or to maintain their family. For more information on Bharti AXA’s Critical Illness policy, click here . A first-of-its-kind campaign in the insurance industry, Bharti AXA GI’s digital campaign successfully capitalises the most potent communication medium today – the digital platform, in communicating the need-of-the-hour for insurance – to create awareness about the importance of a critical illness health insurance policy. Seven videos have been developed that narrate the predicaments of ordinary people who suffer from critical illnesses and are forced to work while they are ill, owing to the financial commitments. Commenting on the campaign, Dr. Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, MD and CEO, Bharti AXA General Insurance said, “The videos are designed such that the common man can easily relate to them and hence they have the potential to instil the need for health insurance among them. Even the minority that does have some form of health insurance is not completely aware of the options available; and ends up buying a policy that may or may not suit them. With this viral communication campaign, we aim to increase awareness about health insurance and help the aam admi choose the right health insurance policy.” The campaign videos can be seen at Bharti AXA’s Facebook , YouTube and LinkedIn pages and here . Bharti AXA has also launched a ‘Working Patient’ journal titled ‘Patient Times’ that carries updates on patients, who are seen working or are spotted at unusual places. It also has content for patients, including dos and don’ts and other useful and informative content. Patient Times can be viewed here . “For more details on risk factors, terms and conditions please read sales brochure carefully before concluding a sale”. Insurance is a subject matter of solicitation. Part number: adv5/ci/pr/03-02-14 Reg. No.: 139