Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad .

GST is determined on the suggestions of the GST Council, which is a constitutional physique comprising members from the central authorities and state governments. At current, no suggestion to scale back the GST price on medical insurance premium is into consideration of the GST Council,” said Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat k Karad

New Delhi:

Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat k Karad on Monday mentioned there isn’t a suggestion into consideration of the GST Council to scale back Items and Companies Tax (GST) on health insurance premium.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Karad mentioned the GST levied on medical insurance premium is eighteen per cent.

“The rate of GST is determined on the suggestions of the GST Council, which is a constitutional physique comprising members from the central authorities and state governments. At current, no suggestion to scale back the GST price on medical insurance premium is into consideration of the GST Council,” he mentioned.

Replying to another question, Karad said, expansion of health insurance on commercial basis lies in the domain of insurers, which draw up their business and growth strategies with the approval of their respective boards, and economies of scale from such expansion help bring in cost efficiencies.

Strengthening of regulatory mechanisms for policyholder protection is a function vested by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 in the insurance regulator, which reviews regulations on an ongoing basis in light of the experience of their working and the needs of insurance industry, he said.

.”While public health is a state subject and accordingly the state governments primarily draw up public health interventions from time to time, the central government has launched Ayushman Bharat — Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana as a centrally sponsored scheme for an annual family health cover of Rs 5 lakh for 10.74 crore families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries), thereby massively expanding health insurance coverage,” he said.

I