Govt asks insurance companies to roll out daycare package for Ayush patients

New Delhi, May 28, 2024

The government has asked insurance providers to introduce daycare packages for patients seeking Ayush treatment and said it expects insurance coverage to expand as the treatment guidelines are standardised.

Claims under Ayush - an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy - rose to ₹78 crore in 2023 from ₹9 crore in 2016.

"We are building the Ayush insurance on the pillars of transparency, standardisation and scientific approach," Rajesh Kotecha, secretary - ministry of Ayush, said at an event Monday.

The treatment guidelines help to standardise treatment plans, making it easier for insurance companies to weed out fake claims. The ministry has also released, for the first time, standard treatment guidelines for musculoskeletal disease using an integrated approach.

"The guidelines were reviewed by allopathic doctors and professors of orthopaedics giving it a scientific hue and we are working on guidelines for metabolic-related disease," added the secretary.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) directed all insurance providers to consider Ayush treatment on a par with other treatments in January this year, providing policyholders with different treatment options.

[The Economic Times]