Irdai sets up health insurance consultative committee

Regulator Irdai on Wednesday announced to set up a 15-member Health Insurance Consultative Committee with an aim to achieve the goal of universalisation of health insurance in the country.

The panel has been set up for two years, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said in a circular.

The committee, headed by Irdai member Rakesh Joshi, has been tasked to identify the challenges in carrying out the health insurance business smoothly and make recommendations to facilitate ease of doing business.

"Arrive at ways and means to increase the penetration of health insurance in India, including identifying issues and challenges in the entire value chain and making recommendations to overcome them," is another task assigned to the panel.

Among other things, the panel is also expected to make recommendations regarding the standardisation of procedures among providers, including for capture, collation and analysis of data.

Irdai said health insurance needs to constantly evolve to keep pace with the changing canvas of healthcare. It should be able to comprehensively cater to the needs of those seeking to purchase insurance as a protection mechanism for health expenses.

"It is necessary for every family in the country to have a health insurance cover," the regulator said.

The various elements in the health insurance value chain are required to be visited periodically to provide an enabling environment to achieve the goal of universalisation of health insurance in the country, Irdai said in the circular.