Page 42 - Insurance Times November 2019

with the advent of nuclear families. The society expects Both pillars of Ayushman Bharat-Health
geriatric assurance over geriatric Insurance to address the and wellness centres and PM-JAY are
geriatric healthcare woes comprehensively. The Indian In- focussed on providing comprehensive
surance Industry has a long way to go on this count. There healthcare across the entire continuum
is policy challenge as the society needs to develop some for the poorest of the poor of all ages.
other kind of support that can take care of the geriatric The HWC model includes home health,
healthcare needs," articulated Mr. Girish Rao, MD telemedicine, counselling and commu-
Healthcare at Vidal Health Insurance TPA Pvt. Ltd. nity based models for primary care and diagnostics which
are vital for the elderly while PM-JAY covers secondary and
Mr. Mayank Bathwal, CEO OF Aditya tertiary care such as cardiology, oncology, knee replace-
Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd main- ments, renal disorders and cataract surgery-
tained that the need for geriatric health
procedures which are mostly availed by elderly population.
insurance product was obvious unlike
Currently PM-JAY covers 40% of India's population - those
other types of insurance. Taking infer- who were often excluded from private insurance due to
ences drawn from his own their limited financial means or high risk due to pre-exist-
organization's Mr. Bathwal pointed ing medical conditions. In the first year of implementation
out three clear needs essential for the geriatric popula-
of PM-JAY, over 46 lakh claims have already been raised -
tion i.e. physiological needs, financial needs and emo- of which more than 6 lakh claims came from the geriatric
tional needs. "The core focus till now has been on population. These numbers would only continue to grow
hospitalisation .But the time has come to go for a holistic as the scheme evolves and expands over time," mentioned
offering integrating all the above mentioned needs. My Ms. Naib Consultant at World Bank and Associated with
company recently rolled out a ground-breaking product for
NHA.
this segment by introducing the concept of a health coach
who would be working with the geriatric population more Dr. Shreeraj Deshpande, Chief Operat-
like a companion rather than a doctor with a view to en- ing Officer Future Generali India Insur-
gaging with the geriatric population," he said. ance Co.Ltd maintained that the major
challenge when a government was pro-
Mr. Joydeep Roy, Global leader- Insur-
viding a voluntary health care/insur-
ance Digitals Assets and Leader Insur-
ance arrangement relate to pricing the
ance Practice- India at PWC, felt that product adequately. The lack of health
the provisions for geriatric healthcare savings account, long term health care products and lack
should not start when we have already
of cross subsidization are major hurdles in providing ho-
reached the geriatric age, rather should
listic Geriatric Health and Wellness benefits to the unor-
start as early as possible so as to build ganized and Impoverished sections of the society.
a sizeable corpus to address healthcare needs later on."The
provisions for geriatric healthcare should start as early as Mr. K Murali, Group Head- Insurance
possible so as to build a sizeable corpus to address RPG Group, felt that unless the prac-
healthcare needs later on. There is great need for Health tices, protocol and pricing happen in
savings in India The problem in India is that an average case of hospitalization, unless home
Indian starts planning for pension at the age of 43 and a care and generics get regulated, Insur-
half, whereas a country like Korea, most people start it at ance companies will not be able to ad-
the age of 27 and a half. The average age of India is 28 and equately insure and price the products
we are likely to live longer, therefore, the planning for which are to be delivered at home, OPDs and hospitals. "It
healthcare should also come early". He further added, "We is not only the medical component that needs to be
should build on culturally appropriate practices already in looked for but also the non- medical component that
vogue to address the healthcare needs of the geriatric affects the overall health package offering," he stated.
population.
BIMTECH regularly acknowledges outstanding
"In the first year of implementation of PM-JAY over 46 contributions in the field of Insurance, BIMTECH by con-
lakh claims have already been raised of which more than ferring Life Time Achievement Awards to eminent profes-
6 lakh claims are coming from the geriatric population. sionals from the industry. During this colloquium, it

42 The Insurance Times, November 2019