Can You Get Insurance for Treatment of Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is a significant public health problem in Malaysia that closely follows seasonal climatic change, with waves of epidemics, notably during and after each rainy season.

The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that the cumulative number of dengue fever cases as of May 2022 was 12,942 cases^[1], a significant increase of 39.6% when compared to the same period in 2021.

Whilst most people recover without complications, a proportion progress into a more serious illness known as dengue shock state where fatality can occur.

What is dengue fever?

Dengue fever is a febrile illness caused by a flavivirus^[2] with four distinct serotypes (DV-1, DV-2, DV-3, and DV-4). The viral disease can trigger fatal outcomes in severe cases and is spread between humans by Aedes genus^[3] mosquito vectors.

The main difficulty in controlling dengue viral infection stems from the following root causes:

• It has four different serotypes of the virus, with each constituting the independent ability to cause fatal disease.

• The nonavailability of specific treatment and an effective vaccine for prevention.

• Inherent difficulties in controlling the vector population.

Dengue fever symptoms

Individuals infected with dengue fever typically exhibit a high fever along with at least two of the following symptoms:

• Rash

• Severe headache

• Pain behind the eyes

• Joint and muscle pain

• Nose or gum bleeding.
  
  

Unfortunately, dengue fever has no specific cure. This means that once someone is infected, only supportive treatment for their symptoms can be given.

For example, aspirin-free fever reducers (e.g., acetaminophen), pain medication, and rehydration are typically prescribed to managed symptoms. However, you’ll still have to rely on your immune system to fight the virus.

Dengue fever insurance

As mentioned earlier, there is no existing treatment for dengue fever other than supportive measures and judicious fluid therapy. Furthermore, to exacerbate issues, the ‘danger’ period of dengue, where patients might undergo sudden deterioration, is relatively short (between 48 to 72 hours).

As such, close monitoring and frequent review of fluid management are necessary.

To cope with such unforeseen circumstances, dengue fever insurance is highly recommended. A dengue health insurance policy is a specialised insurance policy that provides coverage for the medical expenses incurred during the treatment of dengue fever to the insured party.

What does dengue fever insurance cover?

Dengue fever insurance typically covers health benefit, death benefit, diagnosis charges and room and board costs on being admitted to a hospital. For example, Prudential, Malaysia offers the following within its Dengue Package:

• Health benefit: This includes daily room & board (R&B) benefits at partner health facilities. This covers high dependency unit charges made by a health facility during hospital confinement, for a maximum of 120 days per year.

• Death benefit: Here, a policy maker’s beneficiaries will receive RM20,000 if they unfortunately pass away from the effects of dengue fever.

• Diagnosis of dengue benefit: This benefit is paid in full (up to RM1,500) when the policyholder is diagnosed with dengue.

• Reimbursement of up to RM100 a day for Room & Board if you are admitted, up to a maximum of 120 days.
  
  

What doesn’t dengue fever insurance cover?

Unfortunately, dengue fever insurance does not cover the following elements:

• Treatment or medicine costs for any other disease besides dengue fever.

• Dengue infection that occurs outside Malaysia

• Dengue infection within the waiting period of 15 to 30 days before the insurance certificate is confirmed.

• Dengue treatment obtained from an unauthorised medical facility or hospital.

Why do you need a dengue fever insurance plan?

As you can see, dengue fever may require comprehensive treatment and result in hospitalisation. Here are some reasons to consider protecting yourself with a dengue fever insurance coverage:

• Cashless Claim Benefits: Insured parties get the advantage of a cashless claim benefit at any of Prudential’s network hospitals. This means they do not need to worry about finances but simply focus on recovery.

• Complimentary Healthcare Check-ups: Dengue fever insurance plans provide complementary healthcare check-ups at partner facilities to the policyholders to prevent the chances of any critical illnesses and complications.

• Pre- and Post-Hospitalisation Coverage: Dengue insurance cover avails pre-and post-hospitalisation expense coverage, with a 30-day pre-hospitalisation and a 60-day post-hospitalisation coverage period for policyholders.

• In-Patient Cost Benefits: Dengue insurance covers the ICU charges, room rents, ambulance charges, day-care treatment, etc.

Dengue fever insurance claim process

Most dengue fever insurance plans in Malaysia are eligible to individuals who are:

• Malaysian citizens currently residing in Malaysia;

• Aged from 19 to 55 years (age next birthday).
  
  

After passing the above eligibility metric, policy applicants are required to undergo medical or health assessments. After these assessments, they are subject to a waiting period of 15 days for dengue fever insurance approval.

This essentially means that their eligibility for the dengue fever insurance benefits will only start after the waiting period, from the commencement of their coverage.

Where to get a dengue fever insurance policy?

Dengue is a challenging global health issue, with about 3.9 billion^[4] of the world’s population at risk of infection. As explained, despite predominantly being a short-lasting illness with no vaccine, severe dengue infection can be fatal.

This is because there is no specific treatment for the infection apart from supportive care with judicious fluid management coupled with continuous patient monitoring.

Prudential Dengue Package offers a treatment coverage plan that helps alleviate the burden of unforeseen dengue infection.

 

^[1]http://outbreaknewstoday.com/dengue-cases-up-40-percent-in-malaysia-97271/

^[2]https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/virus-families/flaviviridae.html

^[3]https://www.britannica.com/animal/Aedes

^[4]https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue