Indian Railways brings Licensed porters, vendors under health insurance scheme

Railways have brought its licensed porters, vendors and hawkers under the Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana Scheme, the Parliament was informed today.

"The scheme to extend the facility has been finalised in consultation with the Labour and Employment Ministry and instructions have been issued to zonal railways," Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa said in the Lok Sabha.

In a written reply, the minister said, the railway zones have been asked to implement the scheme through the state government nodal agencies.

As per the scheme, 75 per cent of the premium will be borne by the Railways and the balance 25 per cent to be contributed by the beneficiary.

Cashless insurance back in all private hospitals, except Apollo

Barring the Apollo group, cashless health cover services have been restored in all other corporate hospitals, after their managements agreed to the standard treatment rates negotiated by the public sector health insurance providers.

The rates fixed by New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance after long discussions have been agreed to by the corporate chains, said G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, United India Insurance. He did not specify the discount in rates offered by the hospitals to the insurance firms.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event here today at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Comerce and Industry, he said health policy holders can also get treatment from those (including Apollo) not in their (insurance firms’) preferred providers network (PPN), though the policy holder will have to then clear the bills upfront and later claim a reimbursement.

The PSU insurance firms had removed the names of hospital chains such as Fortis, Max and Apollo from their PPN list after a difference of opinion on rates. The insurance firms said they were losing money due to high claims and the big chains felt the rates sought by the former weren’t enough.

A deal was finally struck after the insurance companies brought the larger healthcare providers under a special category, A+, with a differential price tag, for their services. PSU insurance firms now classify healthcare providers as A, B, C, D and A+.