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US expects insurers to cover COVID vaccine without copays

Health insurers cover vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. They’re considered a preventive service, and the Affordable Care Act requires insurers cover them at no charge to patients. A range of screening tests, immunizations and birth control for women are already covered under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. However, the Trump administration is pressing the courts to overturn Obamacare as unconstitutional.

Non-payment of salaries to medics a criminal offence: Govt to inform states

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.R. Shah asked the Centre to issue necessary directions to states and Union Territories, and sought a compliance report in four weeks.
The top court noted that non-adherence to the Centre’s direction by states will be treated as an offence under the Disaster Management Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Pandemic to nearly wipe out growth in developing Asia in 2020 – ADB

Developing Asia, a group of 45 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, is expected to post growth of just 0.1% in 2020, the ADB said in a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook report issued in April, the slowest pace since 1961, before growing 6.2% next year.The updated forecasts show more damage to economies in developing Asia than estimates it released it April, which predicted 2.2% growth for the region in 2020.

Mobile app-based payments rise 163% to $287 billion in 2019: Report

The report said UPI processed nearly 11 billion transactions in 2019 and based on a monthly rate of USD 31 billion in February, UPI payments are already clocking more than USD 373 billion in annualised payment value in 2020.

It added that Google Pay and PhonePe-led UPI payment apps handled over 7 billion transactions in total, representing more than two-thirds of UPI transactions in 2019.

India 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019, will continue to attract investments: UN

“The digital economy and real estate and property development, two industries that attracted growing FDI before the pandemic, could evolve in different directions,” the report said adding that the digital economy will likely see continued investments, real estate and property development will face “significant pressures” from slowing demand and financing constraints.

Indian general insurance business to stagnate in 2020 due to COVID-19:GlobalData

Decline in key sectors such as auto, manufacturing and construction is expected to heavily impact insurance industry as they account for more than 47 per cent of general insurance premiums in 2019.

Motor industry is facing severe slowdown due to supply chain disruptions, stalled production and low demand. In April 2020, automobile manufacturers registered zero sales due to the lockdown. Sales have picked up marginally in May after the lockdown restrictions were eased by the government; but are well below the pre-COVID levels.

Nigeria’s Swiss Re backed  life insurer sees sales surge as Pandemic take hold 

“Health workers are demanding it, other state governments and municipalities that didn’t have it before are now looking at it differently,” Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Tunde Hassan-Odukale said in an interview in Lagos. “People who were not doing group life insurance before, are now looking at it on a corporate basis.”

Sales of group life policies have jumped 10% this year and the trend is expected to continue with COVID-19 cases in Nigeria still on the rise, he said. This may help to counteract pressure on the firm’s retail business, where individual life policies could be hit by a slowdown in economic activity because of lockdown measures to curb the spread of the disease.

China-backed AIIB approves $750 million loan to India for COVID-19 response

Cofinanced with the Asian Development Bank, the budgetary support will go toward bolstering economic aid for businesses, including for the informal sector, expanding social safety nets for the needy, and strengthening the country’s health care systems. 

“Many of the world’s low and middle-income countries are still in the early stages of the health crisis but are already feeling the impacts of the pandemic. This poses an enormous risk for millions across India who have only recently emerged from poverty,” said AIIB Vice President, Investment Operations, D.J. Pandian.