Page 11 - Insurance Times December 2019

Health Insurance

News

Aditya Birla Health Insur- Govt survey reveals most of the Indians don't have
ance anticipates to health insurance
A report by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and
achieve 80% growth
Programme Implementation, has recently revealed
According to a company official, that a majority of Indians don’t have health expen-
Adity a diture coverage. The ministry conducted the survey
Birla on household social consumption related to health
Health In- during July 2017-June 2018 as part of 75th round of
surance is National Sample Survey (NSS).
expecting
to grow its As per the report, 14% of the rural population and 19% of the urban popula-
business by 80% during the current tion said they had health expenditure coverage. Over 13% of rural and 9% of
urban population said they were covered by government-sponsored health
financial year.
insurance. 1% of rural population said they were covered by health insurance
Within the first half of this current fi- arranged by government/PSU as employer/ employer-supported health protec-
nancial year, the company's business tion schemes. Meanwhile, 6% of urban population reported that they were cov-
stood at Rs 315 crore, which is 78% ered by health insurance arranged by government/PSU as employer/ employer-
higher compared to the previous first supported health protection schemes.
half. Last year, the company regis-
tered a business of Rs 500 crore. More women will use health insurance when it covers IVF
"The company is the fastest growing According to a new study, when insurance covers in vitro fertilization, more
among health insurance companies women struggling will use the method to improve their chances of having a
in the country," CEO of Aditya Birla baby. Researchers found that when the University of Michigan’s health insur-
Health Mayank Bathwal said. The ance plan started covering IVF, use of the technology nearly tripled overall and
company came into existence three increased by more than nine-fold among employees and dependents in lower-
years ago, he said adding that 2021- salary brackets, according to the report published in JAMA.
22 is likely to be the break-even fis- “It’s important to realize that infertility is a disease and unlike many other dis-
cal. "We expect to break-even by eases, historically it has not been well covered by health insurance,” said study
2021-22. In the subsequent year, leader Dr. James Dupree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “Infer-
the company is expected to clock tility does not appear to discriminate based on how much money you have or
profits," Bathwal said.
what kind of job you have. But people are not using IVF in the same way,”
"We will explore the possibility of Dupree said. “Insurance can help mitigate those disparities.”
participating in Ayushman Bharat",
“As a urologist, I see the heartbreak, anguish and stress all the time,” Dupree
he said. Bathwal said the focus of the said. “I tell people we have this great treatment that will allow you to have
company would be on retail sales. children with your DNA. Then they start asking how much it costs. When they
"Our 70 per cent of the sales comes say they can’t afford it, it’s heartbreaking.” When the University of Michigan
from the retail segment. We aim to began to cover IVF in 2015, Dupree and his colleagues saw an opportunity to
take it to 75 per cent", he added. study how big of an impact insurance coverage might make.

The Insurance Times, December 2019 11