Quality Council to approach IRDA on medical insurance

The Quality Council of India (QCI) is likely to ask insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to permit only accredited hospitals for providing medical facilities to persons covered under the insurance schemes.     

The accreditation body is likely to write to IRDA for prescribing only accredited hospitals to be empanelled by the insurance providers, Secretary General QCI Girdhar J Gyani said here on the sidelines of a medical summit organised by the industry body Assocham.     

"We will write a letter to the IRDA to issue a notification in this regard," he said.      

Gyani said that the Council will propose to IRDA to give hospitals 18 months time to accredit themselves with QCI and only be allowed to be empanelled by insurance service providers.      

The IRDA is still not very keen on prescribing accredition as a criterion as it will create a lot of noises in the industry but "only way to promote health insurance is to try for accredition", he said.     

At present, only 19 hospitals have been granted accredition by QCI in India, and it is likely that in a few months around 55 more hospitals will get accredition for getting empanelled, added Gyani.