The Hindu : Business : ‘Promote standalone health insurance cos.’

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Saturday, Dec 08, 2007
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‘Promote standalone health insurance cos.’

Special Correspondent

Panel submits report on insurance for senior citizens

MUMBAI: The Committee on Health Insurance for Senior Citizens asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to promote standalone health insurance companies and initiate necessary action for separate treatment of such companies to ensure their viability.

A separate committee had earlier recommended that standalone health insurance companies should be set up for better penetration.

The committee endorses and reiterates the recommendation, the committee stated in its report, which was released on Friday.

All insurance companies, both life and non-life, should be encouraged to promote separate health insurance subsidiaries. At least 50 per cent of the service tax on all health insurance premiums should be allowed to be credited to the Insurance Pool recommended to be created with the IRDA for dealing with high-risk health insurance cases of senior citizens.

It is suggested that insurers fix a base price at the age of 50 and adjust it with a loading for each year.

Health insurance products for senior citizens should be designed according to their needs and capacity to pay, the committee observes.

The committee felt that some of the senior citizen beneficiaries of CGHS, ESIS and other health indemnity arrangements like those of Railways are unable to actually avail themselves of those facilities if they retire to places where such facilities are not available. In order to avoid hardship to such beneficiaries, it is recommended that they be given the facility of opting out of their respective schemes.

Such optees should be given a suitable annual grant, say, equivalent to the average cost being incurred per beneficiary to enable them to buy health insurance.

The committee recommends that all senior citizens with incomes below the average per capita income but above the poverty line should be given a grant of Rs. 100 a month.

This should not be given in the form of cash but in the form of a voucher, either for buying health insurance or for primary and preventive care services.

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