The state-sponsored National Quality Council (NQC) will shortly propose to the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDA) to issue guidelines to all insurance companies to extend insurance coverage to patients that undertook medical treatment from hospitals only accredited by NQC.

“The NQC board has already approved this proposal and has taken up the issue with IRDAI Chairperson,” NQC Secretary General Girdhar J Gyani said at a health insurance and medical care summit here.

“The NQC will forward a detailed proposal to IRDAI, making it mandatory for all insurance companies that medical reimbursement benefits be extended to all those patient, who have taken treatment from NQC accredited hospitals,” he said.

“We hope that the IRDAI would be able to formalise new guidelines to this effect as officials of NQC and IRDAI would jointly meet to push the proposal in the interest of companies, organisations both governmental and non-governmental that extend medical coverage to its employees,”  Mr Gyani said.

The NQC is also evolving stringent accreditation norms to accredited hospitals so that no sub-standard treatment is extended by them at the cost of patients, he indicated. 

Ensures quality

Although, the current accreditation norms are not outdated but modifications and improvements need to be made upon them, he added.

With Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India  making it mandatory for insurance companies to extend medical coverage to patients having accredited from NQC, the widespread misuse of insurance coverage will come to an end, Mr Gyani  said.

While National Quality Council  accreditation will ensure quality medical treatment, the move will promote medical tourism in India in a healthy and effective manner, he pointed out.

Insurance companies see this as a good move, but are slightly skeptical as it will impact the customers who want wider coverage.