Insurance regulator IRDAI is going to provide a big facility for those taking medical insurance. This will end the problem of cashless settlement of the people.
A big news has come out regarding health insurance. According to sources, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is preparing to make health insurance cashless. It is expected that this will end the hassle of claims. It is being told that IRDAI has given time till 31st October to the insurance companies to implement this system.
Currently, a big problem people face is that very few hospitals provide the facility of cashless settlement. The insurance regulator is preparing to completely end this problem of people buying medical insurance. If IRDAI’s plan is implemented, 100 percent cashless settlement will be ensured in the entire country.
According to an ET report, insurance regulator IRDAI is preparing to restore the facility of cashless medical insurance settlement in hospitals across the country. For this, the regulator has asked to prepare a report on the general empanelment process of hospitals and a committee on 100 percent cashless. The committee has to explain how cashless settlement can be implemented in hospitals across the country.
At present the number of people having medical insurance in India is around 40 crores. If IRDAI’s new scheme gets approved and can be implemented then these 40 crore people buying medical insurance will get huge benefit. Apart from this, this arrangement of IRDA can also increase the popularity and acceptability of medical insurance in the country, which will benefit the overall insurance industry.
At present, only 49 percent hospitals in the country provide cashless settlement facility. The number of such hospitals is about 25 thousand. This does not include all the hospitals in India, rather this data is for those hospitals which are part of the panel of medical insurance.
Actually, people who get medical insurance currently get coverage in two ways. In case of cashless settlement, the insurance company makes the payment directly to the hospital. Where this facility is not available, the policy holder has to first pay the hospital bill from God. The insurance company later makes payment to the policy holder.
In this type of system, customers often have to face problems. There are also such cases when people are not able to go to the right hospital even after having insurance, because they do not have the arrangement for cash payment. IRDA is now trying to correct this.
Many times such cases have also come to light in which there has been a dispute between hospitals and insurance companies regarding settlement. The new system of IRDA will also remove such disputes.
