IRDAI plans to standardize charges for few medical procedures

Increasing tariffs in hospitals has become one of the major concerns of IRDAI, because of which the IRDAI has planned to make standardization in terms of charges for some medical procedures, as informed by an official. According to T L Alamelu, IRDAI member(non-life), hospital charges has increased by 10-15% and tariffs are being changed on a regular basis. “Hospitals keep on changing tariffs on a regular basis. There is no body to check that. The regulator does not allow insurance companies to raise premium every year though there is around 10-15 per cent inflation of hospital charges at present,” Alamelu said. Highlighting the issue of ‘mismatch’, she added, “In this context, the General Insurance Council is in talks with the TPAs (third party administrators) to standardise charges for some procedures like cataract surgery and hysterectomy.” “We plan to introduce a system in which people will have the liberty to choose their TPAs,” she said. “All claims will be settled from this forum within a specific period of time,” she said. IRDAI is also planning to come out with a common health policy ‘Arogya Sanjeevani’ with standardised terms and conditions and every insurer has to offer this, she added.