NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took note of complaints of insurance companies not reimbursing the full cost of Covid-19 treatment and told the Union government to look into the problem faced by citizens during the pandemic.
A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian told solicitor general Tushar Mehta to “take care of insurance companies” which are allegedly slashing the reimbursement amount due to Covid patients. There have been complaints that the treatment cost has risen because of an increase in the number of consumable items by doctors, nurses and health workers but insurance firms are not reimbursing the amount billed by hospitals for consumables.
Mehta said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has issued strict instructions to all insurance companies that the entire cost of consumables has to be included in the Covid-19 treatment. “Irdai can be asked to ensure that no person seeking reimbursement of treatment cost is left high and dry,” he said.
The CJI-led bench said, “At a time of pandemic, insurance companies cannot adopt a hands-off approach, especially when people are facing hardship.” These remarks came during the hearing of PILs which sought capping of Covid-19 treatment cost in hospitals acrosRead More – Source
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