Health insurers in Asia to cover home treatment
Health insurers in Asia are now allowed to offer treatment at home and charge an additional premium, according to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
The news will be welcomed by insurers as it means they will save on daily hospitalisation charges; however, they will have to take into account that in some circumstances, homecare may be pricier than hospital charges.
What do insurers need to do?
Insurers need to inform the IRDAI if their polices offer homecare as an add-on cover and criteria for the settlement of homecare claims should be clearly mentioned in the policy. The authority’s criteria for defining healthcare provided at home include:
- the healthcare is for an ailment that normally needs hospitalisation provided that a medical practitioner advises that the insured can have homecare
- there is a continuous active line of treatment with the health status of the insured monitored daily by a medical practitioner during the duration of homecare and
- records of daily monitoring of the insured patient and the treatment given are recorded and signed by a medical practitioner
The pandemic has given rise to an increasing demand for healthcare from home and just this month international company Huma agreed a five-year partnership with IT consultants Atos to improve its home healthcare and remote monitoring services.
Huma’s approach to international healthcare means patients are monitored outside of hospital and given proactive medical intervention before a visit to hospital is required.
Because this makes the best use of resources, it also improves patient outcomes and reduces long-term healthcare costs for employers.