IRDAI to roll out nationwide cashless medical-insurance settlement soon
IRDAI has mandated the Committee on Common Empanelment Process of Hospitals and 100% Cashless to submit a report on implementing fully cashless medical-insurance settlement in hospitals across the country. Currently, cashless settlement is available in 49% of the hospitals, numbering around 25,000.
Around 400 million medical-insurance policyholders are likely to benefit once the plan is implemented.
In the wake of recent clashes between insurance companies and hospitals, IRDAI has been exploring ways to resolve such incidents.
According to an order issued by the General Insurance Council (GIC) secretary general Inderjeet Singh dated August 1, the committee will provide weekly updates, with an aim to introduce nationwide cashless settlement by the end of October.
The committee is headed by S Prakash, former managing director of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company.
Alongside, Shekar Sampath Kumar, who had played a key role in standardisation of rates for medical procedures for PSU general insurers a decade ago, has been roped in by IRDAI as GIC’s director of health insurance for three years. Kumar, an insurance ombudsman at Chennai, is expected to take up the new assignment by the end of this month, two sources familiar with the development have confirmed.
In his new role, Kumar, who will be based in Chennai, will work towards bringing all hospitals under the cashless facility, implementing common procedural rates for them.
