New Delhi, Aug. 8: The Union health ministry has called for a meeting of major hospitals on Tuesday, to develop a standard procedure for treatment across hospitals. The ministry is trying to resolve the ongoing spat between insurance firms and large hospital chains.
Starting July 1, public sector health insurers had withdrawn cashless facility at several large hospitals in key metros, alleging misuse. Insurance companies had alleged that for the same treatment, hospitals were charging more if the customer was paying through cashless facility.
Health insurance firms have been calling for standard procedures for the healthcare sector and a stop to what they feel are unwarranted tests or procedures. Hospitals including Apollo and Max among others have been called for the meeting, said sources.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman, Mr J. Hari Narayan, is said to have written to the heath ministry over the issue. However, a source in the health ministry claimed that the meeting has not been called due to IRDA letter but because the ministry itself is looking to develop a health policy.
However, the health ministry is not looking at standardisation of bills, which means different hospitals can still have the same charges for the same treatment.
A ministry official says that the standardisation process will take 7-8 months at least and cannot be tackled at this point. Insurance companies have been pointing out huge variance in the bills across different hospitals.
However, hospitals say that it is their right to charge differently as hospitals have varied infrastructure and employee costs.
This has also become a major headache for policy holders, who now have to pay for hospitalisation and later on, claim the money from the insurer.
Public sector insurance companies have also been facing problems over the past few years, as the total payouts by them have exceeded the income from premiums.