Health insurance has become costlier every year, and the government is now worried about this constant rise.
Medical inflation in India is 11.5%, one of the highest in the world, which means hospital costs are increasing rapidly.
Since the post-COVID period (2021–22), health insurance premiums have also gone up sharply.
To stop insurance companies from increasing premiums arbitrarily, the government is considering setting a fixed upper limit on how much they can charge.
Key Proposals to Control Premium Hike
The government has started discussions with IRDAI, insurance companies, and hospitals.
Important suggestions have already been shared with the insurance regulator, and decisions may be announced soon.
Some major proposals include:
Setting a maximum limit on insurance premiums
Capping insurance agent commissions at 20% for new policies
Reducing commissions to 10% on renewals
Regulating hospital treatment package rates
Ensuring full transparency in claims, hospital bills, and discharge summaries
All these steps aim to make health insurance more affordable and prevent sudden premium hikes.
Government Pushes for Transparency and Digital Claims
According to reports, the Finance Ministry recently held a closed-door meeting with insurance CEOs, leading hospitals, and IRDAI officials.
In the meeting, the government clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with companies increasing premiums every year without proper justification.
Hospitals, however, claim their margins are already low.
They argue that insurance companies increase premiums but delay claim payments.
To address these issues, the government is preparing to launch the National Health Claims Exchange, a fully digital system that will make every claim process transparent and easier to track.
