M Nagaraju, Secretary,Financial Services , Ministry of Finance
The secretary advised insurers and hospitals to take measures such as devising standardised treatment protocols, common empanelment norms, seamless cashless claims processing, etc, to bring down health insurance costs, Department of Financial Services said in a post on X
New Delhi: The finance ministry on Thursday asked hospitals and insurance companies to make healthcare affordable and accessible for policyholders in view of instances of unreasonable increase in medical expenses.
Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju chaired a meeting of representatives of leading insurers, hospitals, General Insurance Council and Association of Healthcare Providers (India) to discuss the issue of medical inflation and rising premium costs.
The Secretary advised insurers and hospitals to fast-track onboarding on the National Health Claims Exchange, devise standard treatment protocols, adopt common empanelment norms and ensure seamless cashless claims processing to make healthcare more affordable and accessible.
According to a press release of the finance ministry, the meeting on Thursday, discussed issues of medical inflation and rising health insurance premiums, and saw participation from representatives of the General Insurance Council, Association of Healthcare Providers in India (AHPI), leading hospital chains such as Max Healthcare, Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals, as well as insurers including New India Assurance, Star Health Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, among others.
The secretary advised insurers and hospitals to take measures such as devising standardised treatment protocols, common empanelment norms, seamless cashless claims processing, etc, to bring down health insurance costs, Department of Financial Services said in a post on X.
Reiterating the need to prioritise policyholder interest, Nagaraju stressed that insurance companies must focus on quicker approvals and smoother processes during hospitalisation and claim settlement so that customers receive timely support at critical moments.
He further underlined that while medical inflation is driven by multiple cost factors, greater collaboration between hospitals and insurers through cost control and standardisation is essential to bring transparency and efficiency and ensure better value for health insurance policyholders.
It was emphasised that the hospitals and insurance companies should work together to ensure transparency and efficiency and make healthcare affordable and accessible for policyholders.
Senior industry leaders, including General Insurance Council Secretary General Inderjeet Singh, Apollo Hospitals MD Dr Suneeta Reddy, Max Healthcare CMD Abhay Soi and senior executives from Niva Bupa, Star Health and Oriental Insurance, attended the meeting and took part in the deliberations.