Healthcare activists as well as insured patients have hailed the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat’s decision to file a PIL against hospitals and insurance providers.
Healthcare activists as well as insured patients, who have had the misfortune of dealing with insurance companies, have hailed the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat’s decision to file a PIL against hospitals and insurance providers.
“It’s about time. They should have been hauled to court long ago,” Ravi Duggal, healthcare activist said, adding that both insurance companies and hospitals are taking people for a ride despite the fact the public pays a hefty insurance premium.
Shirish Deshpande, chairman, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, which has been advocating consumer issues for well over 25 years, added that not just patients but some right-minded doctors are also supporting its decision.
“We will file a PIL. But litigation may take some time. So we are trying to seek the intervention of the ministries concerned so that they can bring the stakeholders, the consumer bodies, insurance companies, TPAs and hospitals to the table to arrive at an amicable solution,” said Deshpande.
Consumer activist Anant Ghadge said the PIL will bring the matter into the public forum. “The common man too will get educated in the process. It’s high time some legal action was taken.” Ghadge added.
However, MS Kamath, general secretary, Consumer Guidance Society of India, was not so hopeful. “I do not see a legally tenable case here. How can you regularise a field in which there are no regulations? What hospitals should do is give a rate card, like a rickshaw tariff card or a menu card in an Udipi restaurant, which is accessible to all on the Internet.
What will happen is that the hospital and insurance companies will come at a consensus and ultimately the premiums will go up which, the consumer will end up paying,” Kamath added.
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