Bengaluru: Dr. Devi Shetty's Narayana Health, India’s first hospital chain to own an insurance company, will soon roll out an affordable Rs 1 crore health cover specifically designed for senior citizens. The policy covers pre-existing conditions following a thorough health screening and ensures lifetime coverage with no upper age limit.
About 15% of heart surgeries in India are performed by Narayana Hrudayalaya, with 30% of these on senior citizens. The new policy will also cover individuals with prior heart surgeries or angioplasty and provide top-up options for those with existing insurance of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, allowing total coverage of up to Rs 1 crore.
Amit Chhabra, chief business officer at Policybazaar, highlighted recent innovations in the Indian insurance sector, noting that the Rs 1 crore sum insured category can aid families dealing with medical inflation, currently at 14%. Leading insurers like ABHI, Bajaj, and Niva Bupa have already adopted this high-coverage model.
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While this policy is already soft-launched in Bengaluru, Narayana Health plans to expand it to Kolkata and New Delhi next year, aiming to reach between 1 lakh and 2 lakh people initially. CEO Pankaj Nawani of CarePal Secure cautioned that, despite the policy's appeal, waiting periods may still apply unless supported by thorough underwriting.
Dr. Shetty emphasized the importance of affordable health insurance, noting that many developed nations cannot sustain taxpayer-funded free healthcare. India's current tax-to-GDP ratio is about 11.2%, compared to 25%-45% in other countries, which spend around 10%-18% of GDP on healthcare, whereas India spends 2.1%.
Narayana Health has also set up a 15,000-square-foot advanced screening center with facilities like CT scans, mammograms, and pap smears to promote preventive checkups. "We’re bringing preventive checkups to the workplace to make healthcare accessible," said Dr. Shetty.
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