Page 15 - The Insurance Times September 2024

paper. "While unloading, we saw that players, while private insurers grew by ing to data presented in Parliament by
a portion of the consignment was 13.5 per cent in Q1 FY25. The Group the Union Ministry of Health and Fam-
damaged. We wrote to the parties Health segment saw a slight modera- ily Welfare.
concerned but there was little effect. tion in growth at 15.4 per cent, with The data shows that of the nearly 6.2
The value of the consignment was Rs
SAHI firms growing at 28.7 per cent crore approved hospital admissions till
8-10 crore," he added. The next hear- and private multiline players at 22.2 January 2024, as many as 57.5 lakh
ing is on Aug 12.
per cent, according to a report by were senior citizens aged 70 years and
In the court, it was claimed that un- Emkay Global Financial Services. more. The government's expenditure
less the vessel was detained, the suit In Q1 FY25, the health segment ac- for treatments under the scheme
will become infructuous. It was submit- counted for 41 per cent of the overall reached a staggering Rs 79,200 crore
ted that out of 8,000 tonne of gross written premium income mix. over the last six years till January 2024,
bleached hardwood, kraft, pulp and
Retail health made up about 14 per of which Rs 9,878.5 crore was allo-
acacia purchased, 1,312 tonne was
cent, while group health comprised 27 cated to treat those who are 70 years
damaged.
per cent. and over.
Justice Mukherjee clarified that if an The costs and number of admissions
aggregated sum of Rs 7 crore to the Government spent 14% of frames the challenge for the BJP led
credit of the suit as security is depos- government with one of the party's key
ited with the court's registrar on or funds under Ayushman poll agenda being an ambitious expan-
before Aug 12, the order of arrest will Bharat on those over 70 sion of Ayushman Bharat to include all
stand automatically vacated.
years individuals over 70, irrespective of
With new product BENEFICIARIES AGED 70 years and their economic status. This move is set
more made up over 12 per cent of all to add nearly 4 crore new beneficiaries
launches, Chola MS eyes admissions under the government's to the program. At present, only the
higher retail health insur- flagship Ayushman Bharat health insur- poor, who figure in the SECC data, are
ance scheme, with their treatment among t hose with access to the an-
ance growth costs accounting for nearly 14% of the nual Rs 5 lakh coverage under the

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance total expenditure till January, accord- scheme.
Co Ltd seeks to strengthen its focus on
the retail health insurance business Received Rs. 21,256 crore towards GST on health in-
with the launch of new products soon.
surance in 3 yrs: Govt
"With the new product framework Amid growing demand for a cut, if not removal, of GST on health and life
now in place, we plan to introduce insurance, government told Parliament that the levy fetched it Rs 21,256
products targeting various segments, crore during the last three financial years, with Rs 8,263 being collected
including women's health, in the com-
during 2023-24.
ing months," said V Suryanarayanan,
Managing Director of Chola MS. Responding to a Parliament question, junior minister for finance Pankaj
Chaudhary said another Rs 3,274 crore was received as GST from reissuance
He acknowledged that standalone of health policies during last three years.
health insurance (SAHI) players have
experienced higher growth rates com- The GST Council had fixed 18% rate when the new regime kicked in from
pared to multiline insurers like July 2017. According to the formula, the Centre collects 9% GST with a
Cholamandalam. While SAHI compa- matching collection by states. From the Centre's kitty, 41% is shared with
nies have been growing at 24-25 per the states in line with the devolution formula.
cent, multiline players have seen To a question on whether there is a demand from the industry for with-
growth rates of 12-13 per cent in re- drawal of service tax, Chaudhary said "representations have been received
tail health. requesting for exemption or reduction in the rate of GST on life insurance
The retail health segment experienced and health insurance". GST rates and exemptions are prescribed on the rec-
robust growth of 18.5 per cent, driven ommendations of the GST Council, which is a constitutional body compris-
by a 24.2 per cent increase for SAHI ing representatives from both the Centre and the States/UTs, he added.

14 September 2024 The Insurance Times