DFS Secretary M. Nagaraju calls for stronger insurer–hospital collaboration to curb medical inflation and improve cashless claim services
Secretary Nagaraju advised insurers and hospitals to expedite onboarding on the National Health Claims Exchange, adopt standardised treatment protocols, and implement common empanelment norms to ensure seamless cashless access for policyholders.
New Delhi, November 14: M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), chaired a meeting on November 13 to address rising medical inflation and increasing health insurance premiums, urging insurers and healthcare providers to work together on cost control, standardisation, and better service delivery.
The meeting brought together representatives from the General Insurance Council, Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI), major hospital chains such as Max Healthcare, Fortis, Apollo Hospitals, and leading insurers including New India Assurance, Star Health Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
Secretary Nagaraju advised insurers and hospitals to expedite onboarding on the National Health Claims Exchange, adopt standardised treatment protocols, and implement common empanelment norms to ensure seamless cashless access for policyholders. He emphasised that uniform empanelment across insurers would streamline service terms, reduce administrative burden on hospitals, and improve the consistency of cashless facilities for patients.
Calling for faster processing of claims, he stressed that insurers must ensure higher service standards and better turnaround time, especially during hospitalisation and settlement approvals. Enhanced coordination between insurers and hospitals, he said, is essential to bring transparency, improve efficiency, and offer better value to health insurance customers.
Participants included Inderjeet Singh, Secretary General, General Insurance Council; Dr Suneeta Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals; Shivakumar Pattabhiraman, MD, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals; Abhay Soi, CMD, Max Healthcare; Dr Girdhar J. Gyani, Director General, AHPI; Krishnan Ramachandran, CEO, Niva Bupa Health Insurance; Amitabh Jain, ED & COO, Star Health Insurance; and Meera Parthasarathy, General Manager, Oriental Insurance, along with other stakeholders.
The Secretary underscored that while medical inflation is driven by multiple factors, joint action through standardisation and cost discipline is necessary for stabilising premiums and strengthening India’s health insurance ecosystem.
