NEW DELHI: In a significant move, the insurance regulator has allowed health insurers to expand their network of cashless hospitals beyond the list of hospitals that is maintained by the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB). This move, according to the insurance industry, would make it easier for customers to choose from the best hospitals in their locality.
In a circular issued recently the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said in order to enhance the scope for offering cashless facilities across the length and breadth of the country, the insurers are now empowered to empanel the network providers that meet the standards and benchmarks criteria as specified by their respective boards.
The regulator requires the insurers to publish on its website the board-approved empanelment criteria from time to time. Earlier, only those hospitals that were part of the IIB’s Registry of Hospitals in the Network of Insurers (ROHINI) could be empanelled in the network of hospitals for cashless facilities.
“This announcement by the IRDAI is a significant development that liberates the health insurance providers to broaden their spectrum of the healthcare network, enabling dual benefit of deeper insurance penetration besides encouraging seamlessness in customer experience,” says Sanjay Datta, chief, underwriting officer, Reinsurance, claims & actuarial at ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
According to Sanjiv Bajaj, Joint Chairman & MD, Bajaj Capital, the move will enable customers to not only get quality healthcare with their health insurance policy but also get cashless treatment at their preferred network hospital. The cashless feature allows an insured person to receive treatment at any network hospital without worrying about paying bills.