Now Reading: Health insurance reforms must tackle cost of care, say experts
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Health insurance reforms must tackle cost of care, say experts
India's proposed health insurance reforms aim to standardise treatment rates, introduce common coverage, and expand the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX). Industry experts told BusinessLine the effort could improve transparency and contain…
The Story in Brief
India's proposed health insurance reforms aim to standardise treatment rates, introduce common coverage, and expand the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX). Industry experts told BusinessLine the effort could improve transparency and contain rising healthcare costs, but warned its success hinges on addressing both the visible price of treatment and the underlying cost of delivering quality care. Gurmeet Singh of IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance called standardised rates a welcome step that could reduce claim costs by 8-10 per cent, potentially lowering premiums. He cautioned that the NHCX must be properly integrated across stakeholders. Siddhartha Bhattacharya of NATHEALTH argued that reforms must look beyond rates to the structural cost of healthcare, including delays in insurer payments that lock hospitals' working capital.
The Indian Opinion
The debate over standardised rates misses the real problem: hospitals are not overcharging for fun but because they bear crushing compliance costs, delayed insurer payments, and high capital expenses. The narrative pits insurers against providers, yet both sides admit fraud and delayed settlements inflate premiums and bills. The real test is whether the National Health Claims Exchange will force faster claim settlements, say, within 15 days instead of six months, and whether common rates will actually lower premiums for households. Watch the NHCX rollout and the incurred loss ratio in the next year.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
