CHENNAI: The Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) has demanded the immediate restoration of cashless services by Star Health Insurance to policy holders.
The association said in a statement on Monday that the insurer has suspended cashless services “in arbitrary manner” to many members of the top hospital body. Hospitals and nursing homes that are part of Indian Medical Association Hospital Board also shared the same concerns.
AHPI said that many hospitals are facing an alarming situation as they have to manage irate and distressed patients who are suddenly denied the most basic facility of cashless treatment.
The association also alleged that the insurer has slowed down or stopped the empanelment of new hospitals, denying patients wider access to cashless services. This dual policy of suspension and refusal to empanel is creating unnecessary hardship for patients, it said.
As per AHPI, cashless services have been suspended in many hospitals including Care Hospitals - Ramnagar and Visakhapatnam; Manipal Hospital - Delhi and Gurugram; Max Hospitals - North India; Metro Hospital- Faridabad; Medanta Hospital - Lucknow; Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital - New Delhi; Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad; and Yatharth Hospitals.
Earlier on September 13, the General Insurance Council (GIC) announced its support to the insurance company following ‘unilateral’ and ‘unwarranted’ actions taken by AHPI. Such actions prejudice the interests of policyholders and risk undermining trust in the health insurance ecosystem, it said.
Responding to this, AHPI said that its decision was not unilateral, but a necessary response to the 'arbitrary' actions of Star Health Insurance in de-empanelling hospitals and withdrawing cashless services.
Meanwhile, Star Health in a statement issued on Monday said: “We have not received any instance of cashless suspension from our network partners with whom we have bilateral agreements. AHPI has instead chosen to issue threats of suspending cashless services in a manner that is arbitrary, lacking in clarity, and without actionable details."
The Chennai-based health insurer further said that AHPI’s abrupt press statement has only prejudiced the interests of policyholders across the country and created unnecessary confusion at a time when the government is promoting healthcare as a basic necessity by exempting GST on health insurance.
"We want to reassure our customers that their access to healthcare through Star Health Insurance will remain unaffected. Even in the unlikely event of a disruption, we will ensure that customers receive their claim payments before they are required to settle hospital bills,” it said.