HIV patients will be able to get health insurance policy issued

Under the present guidelines of various Insurance Companies have not been issuing Health Insurance policies to HIV patients. From time to time we had expressed that insurance policy should be issued to them, with HIV being mentioned as preexisting disease. We always felt that HIV patient can be involved in accident and may need hospitalization. He can also get some disease which has no correlation with HIV.

It is good to know that IRDA has considered this viewpoint favorably and in near future Insurance companies will start issuing policies to HIV patients with HIV being mentioned as preexisting disease.

We feel it is a good gesture of Regulator as well as Insurance Companies.

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It is depressing to know that bribe is demanded in a hospital

Reading of this news item (The Times of India) left me thinking -why it happens in India.





But why it happens? There is urgent need to establish more and more medical colleges/hospitals wish that next budget will bring some proposal which will encourage setting up of medical colleges as will as hospitals.

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Be ready to pay Service Tax on health care from next budget (2012)

Be ready to pay Service Tax on health care from next budget (2012). There are clear indications that government is going to impose Service Tax on health insurance from next budget (2012) In case of health care- two options are being considered.
Option 1.

To exclude all services provided by clinical establishments with turnover under Rs.4 crores from the tax. This means that apart from your medical bill at a large private hospital you will also have to pay service tax, which could be 10% of the total amount. The implication of this will be that you should increase sum assured at least by 20% (10% to take care of Service Tax and 10% to take care of inflation).

Option 2.

To leave out hospitals, medical care, diagnostic and paramedical services but tax health check-ups and cosmetic surgery”. After the last budget, the government had deferred a tax on most healthcare facilities in the wake of public protests.

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