After repeated complaints by the insurance sector over the cost of treatment in private hospitals, the finance ministry has written to the health ministry suggesting that health secretary Sudhansh Pant meet representatives from the insurance industry to consider their suggestion for a regulator for healthcare services.
The ongoing efforts of the National Health Authority (NHA) to build the National Health Exchange have been welcomed by the insurance industry. A health regulator would play a vital role in ensuring that this digital transformation aligns with the efficiency of the providers ecosystem, as stated in the letter by financial services secretary Vivek Joshi.
The NHA is the apex body responsible for implementing the flagship public health insurance scheme ‘Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana’. The authority has been entrusted with designing strategy, building technological infrastructure, and implementing the ‘National Digital Health Mission’. The National Health Exchange is a platform set up to standardize insurance claims processes with the objective of making cashless claim settlement more efficient and transparent.
Insurers claim that the framework for digitizing health services is already in place, with the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers and the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), a unique health identifier for each citizen that enables individuals to store their health records digitally and share them with healthcare providers. However, these initiatives are yet to be fully implemented due to the challenge that the central government cannot issue a directive as health is a state subject.

The suggestion has been made that insurance companies can drive the implementation by insisting on registration and accreditation. The establishment of a health regulator would address these concerns and provide a framework for efficient and transparent healthcare services in India.