Standard protocol for treatment a necessity: Irda

He said that with the increased coverage of universal health system, the responsibility of IRDA has considerably increased

A standard protocol for treatment of various diseases and their costs for spreading Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in India was the need of the hour, said M Ramaprasad, member (non-life), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda).

Speaking at a CII Health Insurance Summit, Ramaprasad said absence of a standard protocol for treatment has led to lack of uniformity in the cost of treatments. “We have to have a standard protocol in these areas to work out appropriate insurance products that are affordable to consumers and at the same time do not adversely affect the bottom lines of service providers,” he said.

The Irda member added, going by the number of products introduced and the coverage, health insurance in India had shown an impressive growth in the last decade. But there are challenges to be addressed to, in a time bound manner, he added.

He emphasised on the need for introducing short-term products at affordable prices in a continuous manner. With the increased coverage of universal health system, the responsibility of Irda had considerably increased, he said.

Talking on how attractive insurance products could be rolled out to take care of those who might afford to spent money on health needs, Ramaprasad said in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the state was funding the cost of insurance products. He, however, said it was debatable whether such models could be applied to other states where there might be budgetary constraints.