The Finance Ministry has called for discussions about forming a healthcare regulator to organise, standardise and regulate hospitals that accept health insurance to cover medical expenses.
It is necessary to regulate hospitals to protect the public against continuous increases in health insurance premiums, reported The Indian Express quoting officials.
Mr Vivek Joshi, the secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), in a letter to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, said, “I request you to initiate a meeting of the General Insurance Council — the apex body of all general insurance companies — along with the senior executives of leading insurance companies, National Health Authority and Department of Financial Services to explore the possibility of setting up a health regulator so that health insurance can be made more affordable and ubiquitous.”
The IRDAI had previously said that either it be allowed to regulate hospitals or a separate regulator should be established for this purpose. As the insurance regulator, the IRDAI only oversees one aspect of the health services sector — only the insurers and TPAs (third-party administrators) — but hospitals that are not regulated.
