“Insurance Cos slash list of hospitals offering cashless services in Mumbai for making fraudulent claims” “Medical insurers curb cashless facility” “Mediclaim crisis looms, hospitals seek way out”  “No more cashless mediclaim? Common man suffers” Reading these headlines in local dailies, you, as a customer, both prospective and existing, must be really worried. After all, you had counted on health insurance to ride . . .

Come October 1 and third party administrators (TPA) that service health insurance claims will double the service charges they claim from non-life insurance companies. This may lead to a hike in health insurance premiums if insurers choose to pass it on to consumers. At present, TPA charges 5.25 per cent of the premium paid by policyholders as service fee. This . . .

Healthcare providers in Mumbai formed a core committee on Friday to deal with the controversial preferred provider network (PPN) programme unilaterally introduced by public sector general insurance companies under the cashless mediclaim facility.  “The rate for a procedure of cataract is about Rs24,000 under the PPN,” said Dr Sujata Rao, president of the AMC. Thus the maximum reimbursement that a . . .

The association of third party administrators (TPA) has decided to move the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the four public sector non-life insurance companies and their association, called General Insurers Public Sector Association of India (Gipsa), for forming a cartel and abusing their dominant market position in planning their own TPA outfit. “The TPA floated by Gipsa companies will . . .

NEW DELHI: “More and more hospitals will join the network (Preferred Provider Network) in coming days," said minister of state for finance Namo Narayan Meena while replying to a calling attention on the issue, raised by BJP member S S Ahluwalia, in the Rajya Sabha. He said public sector insurance companies had to resort to rationalization of rates for cashless facilities . . .

On Monday, J Harinarayan, Chairman, IRDA said “The mechanisms are being put in place to improve efficiency in health insurance and administration. Expert committees of industry bodies like CII and FICCI have recommended measures including uniform claim forms, re-authorization. We are also looking into aspects related to billing,” he said. As of July 1 328 hospitals were in the network for . . .

Unfortunately, despite the growth and their leading market share, state-owned insurers have not been able to give focused attention to health insurance through the creation of a health insurance division. The grapevine has it that the current imbroglio over cashless is partly because of differences between two senior executives entrusted with health insurance in a leading public sector firm. Instead . . .

Insurance regulator IRDA today said it will follow the Delhi High Courts direction to take steps on resuming cashless facility to policyholders provided by four PSU general insurers. Now that HC has given direction, we will follow that, IRDA Chairman J. Hari Narayan told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI event here. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court had asked IRDA . . .

When faced with a medical emergency, you pay cash or use your credit card, instead of asking why the hospital is not accepting your cashless medical insurance. This is exactly what harassed consumers found out when health insurance companies recently stopped cashless treatment making customers pay first and then get reimbursed. Health insurers blamed private hospitals of inflating bills that were . . .

The association of private hospitals have sought state government’s intervention to settle the ongoing dispute with insurance companies over cashless mediclaim policy. The association, which includes hospitals like Jalok, Breach Candy, Hinduja and Hurkisondas, has said that the demands of uniform rates for medical procedures that had been put forth by insurance firms were not plausible. “Rates differ according to available . . .