50 % extra premium to get treatment at high-end hospitals

You might have to shell out 50 per cent extra premium to get treatment at the country’s high-end hospitals.

Following the uproar over withdrawing cashless health insurance claims from high-end hospitals, state-owned non-life insurers are working on a product with differential rating that will bare the expenses of the top hospitals.

The four insurers – New India Assurance, United India Insurance, National India Insurance and Oriental Insurance – are designing a product where a person can pay around 50 per cent higher premium to avail the luxury. The health insurance companies censored cashless facility at these hospitals from July 1 for erratic charges levied by them.

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Experts from Medimanage.com give their opinion:

Sudhir Sarnobat:

Sudhir Sarnobat from Medimanage.com

This is improper way to deal with this issue. By creating a product for treatment at these hospitals at 50% extra premium, the insurers are contradicting their earlier stand that the hospitals are overcharging. It looks like the insurers were under-pricing.

Also if the insurers have stopped the cashless by making statements like the hospitals are inflating bills. Is this not a way to legitimise the so called wrong practices of big hospital?

The question remains about the current policy holders. If any member has a complex disease which can be treated at one of these top hospitals only, how can he get the cashless for the same?

Any efficient network of hospitals will need all kinds of hospitals i.e. Primary, Secondary & Tertiary care hospitals. By removing a particular type of hospitals, the insurers are denying the cashless facility to a particular class of patients which is nothing but discrimination.