Welcome push to make insurance more accessible
An IRDAI report concedes that 11 percent of health insurance claims are usually denied, while 6 percent are kept pending for long. Apart from rejections, as many as half of all policy holders face issues such as partial approvals or delays while settling claims. To set things in order, the IRDAI needs to be well staffed and review the board decisions of insurers as a matter of routine. That things have been adrift is apparent from the fact that the regulator has been without a chairperson since this March. There is also the longstanding demand for the GST Council to waive the substantial 18 percent tax on premiums. Waiving GST for all health insurance products would be a good start towards greater affordability and broader coverage. It is high time the government removed at least some of the many hurdles in the path of this critical industry.
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Deccan Herald
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India Gazette
3 hours ago
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