IRDA to step in over cancellation of cashless cover by PSU Insurers.

On July 1st, 2011 four PSU firms for General Insurance viz. National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Assurance had stopped their cashless hospitalization facility. The reason was overcharging by the hospitals and non standardization of the treatment charges. Insurance companies have a network of hospitals, known as PPN, which offers health insurance services under cashless facility. The network hospitals are decided through the agreement between the Third Party Administrators (TPAs) and the hospitals and the list is amended from time to time. Insurance Companies have claimed that the cost to claim ratio was around 140 percent of the premium received under the health portfolio as on June 2012. Some 150 hospitals were scrapped from cashless hospitalization scheme. While the insurance companies complain of overcharging, the private hospital authorities maintain that they cannot conduct treatment at Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates.

Initially Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) took a rain check when their intervention was sought. They felt that the insurance companies and the hospitals need to work out an amicable solution themselves. Now with the policyholders stranded for no fault they have decided to step in. In August this year IRDA came up with a circular stating that policyholders would continue to get cashless hospitalization facility even if the hospital were delisted from cashless cover by the Insurance Companies. They are now in the process of standardizing the treatment costs as well as look into the issue of overcharging

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