Health insurance is a cause of concern for everyone. There are several issues that need regulatory intervention and direction. IRDA has been handed over a memorandum by Moneylife Foundation highlighting the actions for each consumer concerns
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) have the task of protecting policyholders and has initiated several steps in this direction. There is always scope for improvement and hence Moneylife foundation decided to meet number of activists, experts, eminent citizens and citizens groups to get their feedback. The issues along with required actions were put in memorandum and given to IRDA on 10 May 2012.
Among the more common issues that citizens face are rising health insurance premium, senior citizens' inability to increase sum insured, mediclaim policies getting restrictive with different caps, increase in the number of claim rejections for frivolous reasons, cashless facility restricted to few hospitals, claims based loading even after decades of no-claims from the policyholder, stringent hospitalisation intimation and claims submission deadlines, poor and delayed grievance redressal, several Third Party Administrator (TPA) issues which has harassed policyholders to no end and lack of control on medical charges of hospitals and consultants.
Moneylife Foundation is analysed and collated these issues and put them in a memorandum and given to IRDA. A copy of this memorandum is uploaded here.
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30-day online access to the magazine articles published during the subscription period.
Access is given for all articles published during the week (starting Monday) your subscription starts. For example, if you subscribe on Wednesday, you will have access to articles uploaded from Monday of that week.
This means access to other articles (outside the subscription period) are not included.
Articles outside the subscription period can be bought separately for a small price per article.
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Individual requirements could be assessed and underwritten with extras and conditions.Just see, as many as 3 cr plus are insured under RSBY , with standard premium and listed Hospitals & package.Largest good of the largest number could be attained under such mass cover.
This will help their customers remain healthy - and will also ensure their bottom line is healthier !
Health insurance can be much more than just illness insurance ?
We feel patients are the largest untapped healthcare resource and that Information Therapy is Powerful Medicine !
We help patients by
Promoting SelfCare and helping them to do as much for themselves as they can
Helping them with Evidence-Based Guidelines , so that they can ask for the right medical treatment that they need - no more and no less
Helping them with Veto Power, so they can say No to medical care they don’t need, thus preventing overtesting and unnecessary surgery .
As rightly outlined by Dr Malpani, Varistha could have been designed need based , a package of self care , followed by preventive cum maintenance care for the sr citizens , with top up tertiary care. Elders above 60 are not to be, every time rushed to the hospitals , if a holistic approach , built on home care / preventive care would have been dovetailed in Varistha Policy.
Much of it are detailed in Sastry Committee Report.Sadly, Chairman IRDA, by passed the recommendation and lost an opportunity to do good to the Elders in APL Category , estimated to be above 5 cr.