Health Insurance Portability a positive step
The insurance regulator’s proposal to allow consumers to migrate from health insurance company to another is welcome. Portability in health cover will give consumers more options, increase competition, reduce tariffs and improve service quality. Of course, portability makes sense if only the list of diseases that are eligible for coverage remain unchanged. If health policy cover pre-existing conditions only after four years and a consumer decides to switch to another insurance company in the fourth year, should not have to wait four years for pre-existing diseases to be covered. In addition, policyholders must also carry out the bonuses that have accumulated for years without complaint. The migration will work well when consumers doesn’t lose existing benefits. This is logical.
Today, many insurers selling health insurance plans, dislike the past when only standard medicliam sold to policyholder. Consumers will be willing to trade for comparable plans, however, better products, with affordable premiums. However, the portability of health plans is a concern for insurance underwriting business. A consumer who swaps from one provider to another health service also brings in the liability as the history of chronic or frequent claim experience. Insurers must selective in accepting clients who wish to move to stem losses of subscription. Be denied benefits of migration to the elderly or those with a history of chronic diseases. [IRDA] Insurance Regulatory Authority on Development should have safety guard to prevent such practices. Building a database on the history of demand is also a duty. Issues such as migration of data and interpretation of existing policy formulations must be addressed before the portability of health insurance takes place.
Innovative models are also needed to address rising health care costs. A savings account for health, where a policyholder accumulated premium payment, make sense. Insurers can operate and manage these accounts. In parallel, the health sector should reduce health care costs and quality health care affordable and accessible, drawing huge volumes of India.
source economictimes.indiatimes.com
November 16th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
health insurance should only be taken from reputable companies, you really don’t want to get it from fly-by-night companies ,~.