Page 14 - Insurance Times March 2024

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Ayushman Bharat insurance allocation up by 10 per official with a public sector general in-
surance company.
cent
The strongest objection is because the
India's flagship universal health scheme, Ayushman Bharat, saw a 10 per proposal would make insurance costlier
cent increase in the outlay y-o-y to Rs. 7,500 crore, with the Finance Min- for those who need it most. "The pro-
istry proposing to bring ASHA and Anganwadi workers under the scheme's posal disproportionately affects those
ambit. with chronic health conditions by impos-
"Healthcare cover under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will be extended to ing punitive premium loadings at re-
all ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers" Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman newal. This practice not only exacerbates
said while presenting the interim Budget 2024-25. healthcare inequalities but also overlooks
the continuous care needs of these indi-
Of the Rs. 7,500 crore allocation, around Rs. 411 crore will be under the
capital outlay head, while Rs. 7,089 crore is the proposed revenue outlay viduals, potentially compromising their
access to necessary treatments," said a
for the next fiscal.
digit insurance spokesperson.
The revised estimates for FY24 under the Ayushman Bharat scheme were
Industry data shows that the while
Rs. 6,800 crore, while the Budget Estimates for Fy24 were Rs. 7,200 crore
health insurance has been growing at
(including a capital outlay of Rs. 411 crore).
35%, a large part of this growth comes
from the increase in premiums. This is
Health cover pricing under standalone health insurance companies due to higher rates coupled with poli-
during a recent industry meeting with cyholders buying more insurance due
review amid rising claims the regulator. to an increase in hospitalisation costs.
Non-life insurance is divided over a Insurers say there has been a surge in
According to insurers, there are some
proposal by some players to introduce policies where they are constantly pay- healthcare costs after the pandemic
what they describe as 'cohort-based ing out claims for over a decade. At the because of additional diagnostics. One
pricing' to increase premium for poli- same time, there are also those who suggestion for making health insurance
cies where there are consistently high have been paying for decades without more affordable is to reduce the GST
claims. on health insurance premium.
a claim but are seeing their premium
The insurance industry is in a quandary rise manifold due to overall revisions
over health insurance pricing as many coupled with higher rates for seniors. HDFC Life International
companies see claims in excess of pre- "While there might be logic in this pro- announces new health
mium. At the same time, many cus- posal from an actuarial point of view -
tomers are dropping out due to insurance is for unexpected risks - and cover for Indian students
unaffordable premiums. this goes against the principle of distri- studying abroad
The proposal was largely supported by bution of risks in insurance," said an HDFC Life International has launched

The Insurance Times March 2024 13