alternative healthcare systems, like Ayurveda, Unani, homoeopathy, Siddha and acupuncture, being left out of health insurance policies

Now, cover for alternative meds

To begin with, Basic OPD procedures will get benefit of insurance

If you harbour a general mistrust of allopathic medicines and worry about alternative healthcare systems, like Ayurveda, Unani, homoeopathy, Siddha and acupuncture, being left out of health insurance policies, good news: change is in the air. Encouraged by insurance regulator IRDA’s (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) approval last year, insurers are finally launching policies for individuals which extend cover to such alternative healthcare systems. In India, about 60% of registered physicians now are non-allopathic practitioners. Insurers foresee a huge market in this category. “It is a potential market that can be tapped, considering the popularity of these treatments,” said an official of a standalone health insurance company. But don’t expect a full-fledged insurance cover just as yet. Policyholders are unlikely to gain fully as only outpatient department (OPD) treatments will be covered under the proposed benefits. Currently, state-owned New India Assurance and private insurers, such as HDFC Ergo and Star Health, include alternative treatments under their group cover, while Future Generali extends such a cover under its corporate group insurance. There was a time when insurance companies baulked at the idea of extending cover to alternative medicines. Non-standardised treatments, inadequate data, low number of registered practitioners and absence of claim assessment mechanisms in insurers combined to keep alternative systems out of the ambit of traditional health insurance. All that might change soon though, said Sreeraj Deshpande, head of health insurance at Future Generali. “Insurers capable of assessing the risk and challenges in alternative systems may well offer independent covers.” A comprehensive hospitalisation plan will extend a portion of cover to alternative treatments in terms of expenses for daycare procedures. For example, for a health cover worth Rs5 lakh, a policyholder undergoing non-allopathic treatment may get OPD benefits of up to `1 lakh. “At the moment, these benefits have to be delivered through small OPD covers, as it will be less riskier for insurers to underwrite such policies. Insurers still need to overcome some challenges in this space because these treatments need to be more organised,” said the official.