Insurers question high costs of Covid treatment in private hospitals

CHENNAI/BENGALURU: When Sanjay Nagral, a surgeon, tweeted that a Covid-19 patient was billed Rs 12 lakh for treatment in a private hospital, it raised eyebrows among insurers and agents. After all, how much insurance would the virus require?

With private hospitals now offering coronavirus treatment, health insurance claims ranging from Rs 90,000 to Rs 6.5 lakh are trickling in. A clamour is already building up for ‘package rates’ to address concerns of inflated bills.

“While hospitals are doing a commendable job, we also see some cases of enhanced stay, abuse of antibiotics and bundling of procedures,” said Dr S Prakash, MD of Star Health. Star Health has settled 41 claims till date with the highest amounting to Rs 6.5 lakh.

Sources said the General Insurance Council (GIC) is seeking government intervention to define a treatment protocol, along with package rates, on the lines of what insurers pay for routine medical insurance claims. “With no surgical intervention, the protocol should be the same, unless there are other medic