The CEO of the Centre's ambitious Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission on May 2 held consultations with representatives from leading general and stand alone health insurance companies, and private hospitals.
 

The ABNHPM is expected to offer a coverage of Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore of India's poorest families. The representatives from industry bodies such as CII, FICCI, IRDA, NABH, NatHealth and QCI also participated in the consultations and provided valuable inputs to the discussion. The representatives praised the initiative being undertaken and of the substantial engagement of all the stakeholders covering all the aspects like operational guidelines, model tender document, empanelment criterion, package details and rates, etc.

We need to design the scheme to ensure that the targeted beneficiaries get maximum benefits and we can expand access to quality health services in rural areas and Tier-2 and 3 cities. This can be done only when government, hospitals and insurance companies work together as partners," Bhushan said. The deliberations with the insurance companies were focussed on how to get the most competitive rates without compromising the quality of health care services and prevent frauds.

The representatives from hospitals highlighted the need for timely payments for their services by insurance companies/trust. They were appreciative of the claim management process that has been incorporated in the mission, an official statement stated. The Ministry of Health has invited comments/inputs on the model tender document and the guidelines. The stakeholders have sought extension keeping in view that the issues raised are complex and requires detailed deliberations. In view of the requests, it has been decided to extend the last date for submission of comments to May 5.