Hyderabad: In a major relief to patients, cashless treatment for any insurance holders in all hospitals

The GIC, constituted under section 64C of the Insurance Act, 1938 since 2001 by the IRDAI, will be working with insurance providers to make the initiative a success.

Hyderabad: In good news to patients who are covered under health insurance but often have to go for reimbursement because the hospital of their choice has no tie-up with the insurance provider, the General Insurance Council (GIC), an insurance body established by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), will soon launch ‘Cashless Everywhere’ initiative.

The GIC, constituted under section 64C of the Insurance Act, 1938 since 2001 by the IRDAI, will be working with insurance providers to make the initiative a success, a statement said.

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“To ease the burden of policyholders who get treated in a hospital that is not in the network of the insurance company, the GIC, in consultation with all the General and Health Insurance Companies, is launching the ‘Cashless Everywhere’ initiative,” Tapan Singhel, GIC Chairman said.

Under Cashless Everywhere, policyholders can get treated in any hospital they choose, and a cashless facility will be available even if such a hospital is not in the network of the insurance company. For elective procedures, the customer should intimate the insurance company at least 48 hours prior to the admission and for emergency treatment, within 48 hours of admission.

“The claim should be admissible as per the terms of the policy and the cashless facility should be admissible as per the operating guidelines of the insurance company,” Singhel said.

The initiative is aimed at making customers’ lives easy. “Today only about 63 percent of customers opt for cashless claims while the others have to apply for reimbursement claims as they might be admitted to hospitals that are outside their Insurer/TPA network. This puts a significant amount of stress on their finances and makes the process cumbersome,” he said.

The entire journey of the patient or their attenders while dealing with insurance should be seamless, he said adding, “We feel this measure will encourage more customers to opt for health insurance. This will also reduce and in the long run, eliminate fraud, which has been plaguing the industry in a big way”.