Insurance coverage to further boost Ayurveda, says expert

The insurance coverage for Ayurveda treatment is expected to give further boost to the ancient Indian form of medicine, says a leading Ayurvedic specialist.

Saji D'Souza believes that the insurance coverage coupled with the other initiatives of the Central and state governments would help encourage Ayurveda.

The Ministry of AYUSH has published the guidelines for insurance coverage to Ayurvedic treatment and settlement of claims on the basis of benchmark rates for various interventions.

Following this, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) issued clarifications to general and health insurance companies and Third Party Administrators (TPAs) to provide coverage to Ayurveda and other systems of medicines under AYUSH.

Since then, insurance companies like ICICI, Cholamandalam, Apollo Munich, HDFC, Star Health and all public-owned service providers have started embracing the change while extending coverage for Ayurveda and other alternative systems through both reimbursement claims and cashless claims, said D'Souza, Chairman & Managing Director, KSAC Hospital on Thursday.

He told reporters here Ayurveda has emerged into a strong means of healthcare globally and is playing a key role in improving the healthcare indices worldwide.

Ministry of AYUSH was instrumental in signing the agreement with WHO in 2016 to promote research and bring recognition to Ayurveda besides making efforts to sign the pacts with countries like Singapore and Mauritius. AYUSH organized the first-ever international conference and exhibition in Dubai in 2017 to globalize Ayurvedic research, education and practice to unravel the horizons of integrated medicine.

"Both union and state government agencies are encouraging government employees to avail Ayurvedic treatments at government empanelled Ayurvedic hospitals and such medical expenses are reimbursed like any other modern scientific systems of medical treatments through ESHS and CGHS schemes," he said.

Given the stringent standards and investment barriers, there are not more than 50 Ayurvedic hospitals accredited by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) in the country.

KSAC Hospitals at Bangalore is NABH-accredited besides an empanelled hospital with Karnataka government. Its newly opened 50-bedded facility in Hyderabad is at the pre-accreditation entry-level stage with NABH, besides being empanelled with governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

--IANS

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