Page 26 - Ebook health insurance IC27

The Insurance Times

of the industry, underwent several changes over the next decades, characterized
mainly by (i) Nationalization and (ii) Reforms.
(i) Nationalization - The life Insurance was nationalized in 1956 , and Nonlife

Insurance in 1973, where the large number of erstwhile private insurers
were nationalized and merged into one Life Insurance Corporation and
one General Insurance Corporation (with 4 subsidiary companies), owned
by the Government of India.
(ii) Reforms - Malhotra Committee in 1994 produced a report on Insurance
Industry, which led to the establishment of the Insurance Regulator (interim
regulator in 1996, statutory authority in 2000), and finally opening up of the
market to a new generation of private players since Aug,2000.

Q5. Discuss the growth and evolution of health insurance in India.
Ans. Health Insurance in India formally began with the inception of the Employees'

State Insurance Scheme, introduced vide the ESI Act 1948, shortly after the
country's independence in 1947. This scheme was introduced for blue-collar
workers employed in the formal private sector, and provides comprehensive
health services through a network of its own dispensaries and hospitals,
supplemented by services purchased from Authorized Medical Attendants and
private hospitals.

The scheme is largely financed through a contribution from employers and

3 0 Guide for Health Insurance