Now, ayurvedic and alternative treatments qualify for the entire sum insured

There is  good news for policyholders who prefer ayurvedic and alternative treatments. IRDAI has recently issued a circular in which it directed health insurers to remove cap from sum insured for AYUSH treatment.

With this, treatments like Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy systems will get coverage to the extent of sum insured. In fact, the insurance regulator has asked insurance companies to have a board approved policy for AYUSH coverage.

Since majority of these treatments do not require 24-hour hospitalization, insurers will have to put in place quality parameters and procedures for enrolling in AYUSH hospitals/day care centers as network providers to provide cashless facility.

IRDAI said that insurance providers should develop standard operating procedures to enroll AYUSH hospitals into their network, define standard treatment protocols and set up a mechanism to detect fraud and abuse.

In another circular, IRDAI has asked insurers to extend the enhanced sum insured benefits for PwDs (People with Disabilities), people affected by HIV/AIDS and individuals with mental illnesses who want to undergo AYUSH treatment.