Setback to health insurance

Insurance becomes a hurdle

Sexagenarian Mohammad Shabbir, a resident of Kondapur village in Andhra Pradesh's Medak district, is always wary of visitors. “Your Arogyashri people are playing tricks on me,” he tells me, his voice sounding anxious. “They first asked for Rs 2,000, and when I sent it, they started sending me all sorts of stuff. First they sent me glass slides from the hospital, then they started sending me books!” Arogyashri refers to the state-sponsored health insurance scheme, which offers an annual cover of up to Rs 2 lakh per family.  

Universal health scare

Germany opts for the smart card

Why would Germany, the developed country that it is, come to India looking for solutions to deliver its educational subsidies?

Run from cover

Saif Siddiqui spent a little under Rs 14,000 on his appendicitis operation three years ago. The 35-year-old dentist from Bhubaneswar relied on an insurance cover for his family from Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd. He paid Rs 5,184 as premium for the policy.

Standard treatment guidelines soon

 In an effort to streamline treatment procedures across government hospitals the Centre will soon come out with standard treatment guidelines. The guidelines will also be sent to private clinics, but will be non-binding on any of the hospitals.  The guidelines will also benefit companies providing health insurance while reimbursing their customers. 

Letter

Tango with nature

Strings attached

ON JULY 1, India’s four public sector insurance companies withdrew cashless hospitalisation, the star attraction among health insurance policies, from around 100 high-end hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Delhi. Consumers will now have to pay cash if they seek treatment in these hospitals; a stipulated amount fixed for the particular treatment will then be reimbursed at a later date.

When the government must step in

When the United Progressive Alliance (upa) triumphed at the hustings exactly a year ago, both its supporters and detractors agreed the victory vindicated the government’s social welfare schemes. The upa, in its first avatar, brought a new lease of life in many areas of the social welfare sector. It discarded moribund state-centred approaches, involved local communities and tried to draw in the private sector.

Growth by leaps and bounds

The health insurance industry grew by 37 per cent between 2002 and 2008 and the business was worth Rs 5,125 crore in 2008. Industry insiders said the insurance sector has the potential to become a Rs 25,000 crore industry by 2012. The sector currently comprises more than 30 private insurance companies and four public insurance companies. The growth rate of private companies, in terms of premium collected, is more than public health insurance companies (see graphs).