SCORES of mediclaim holders will have their cashless hospitalisation facility restored, with the insurance regulator IRDA promising to comply with the directive of the Delhi High Court to resume the benefit provided by public sector insurers.
Four public sector general insurers withdrew the facility in top city hospitals on the grounds that they had padded up their bills and were unwilling to accept rates offered by these insurance companies. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday came down against IRDA for its failure to sort out the dispute between insurance companies and city hospitals and directed IRDA to make arrangements to restore the facility.
"Now that the High Court has given direction, we will follow that," IRDA chairman J Hari Narayan told reporters on the sidelines of a FICCI event here. However, he maintained that the regulator would come into the picture only if there was a breach of contract between the company and the insurer. He reckons that more products with differential features and varying premiums would help all stakeholders.
