THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has devised a new strategy for reviving the ‘comprehensive accident insurance scheme’ on the back burner for some time due to the hostility of the insurance companies. As per the new decision, the government has directed the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) to invite an expression of interest (EoI) from third-party administrators (TPA) for implementing the scheme. An integral component of the trauma care project announced by the government last November, the scheme guarantees free medical treatment to victims of road accidents.
“The idea was to implement the scheme with the help of private and public insurance companies. But as the EoI invited in this regard evoked no response from the companies, we have decided to identify a competent TPA for managing the funds that will be reimbursed to the hospitals which provide treatment to victims of road traffic accidents,” said an officer with the Health Department.
When asked about this, KMSCL general manager S R Dileepkumar said it was only a week ago the agency had received such a direction from the government. He said KMSCL had no previous experience in floating an EoI in this regard, and it will seek technical opinion from agencies with expertise in the field. “EoI could be floated by the end of this month. Now a pre-bid meeting is on. We have enough experience in RSBY and CHIS Plus, which is more like an insurance model. But the proposed ‘comprehensive accident insurance scheme’ is somewhat different,” said Dileepkumar.
“As the scheme involves fund management, reimbursement, recoupment from the TPA, the involvement of agencies like Kerala Road Safety Authority and others have decided to elicit a technical opinion from those agencies who have experience in the field.”
Earlier in June, Express had reported with the insurance companies remaining unenthusiastic towards the accident and trauma care insurance programme, the government was weighing the option of inviting a fund-manager for executing the project. It was following the debacle of a meeting with the secretary general of General Insurance Council, the coordinating body of general insurance companies and representatives of private insurance companies in April the government arrived at the decision of engaging a TPA for rolling out the scheme, which guarantees free emergency care to an accident victim in the first 48 hours upon admission in a hospital.