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Irda Appoints M Rama Prasad As Health Insurance Forum Chairman
New Delhi: Insurance regulator IRDA Wednesday announced appointment of M Rama Prasad as Chairman of newly-formed Health Insurance Forum that would eventually become a self-regulatory organisation to help promote health insurance.
The Health Insurance Forum, as it is called, would help in evolving policies and processes for the health insurance sector.
M Rama Prasad is a member (Non-life) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), according to a notification issued Wednesday.
The forum will have 32 members, including CEOs of health insurance companies, life insurers, third party administrators (TPAs), officials from labour and health ministries and representatives of health service providers.
The forum, IRDA has said, would act as a consultative agency between insurance companies and other stakeholders. It would also assist IRDA in collecting data for efficient conduct of health insurance business in the country.
It added that if the members failed to attend two consecutive meetings, they would be substituted.
IRDA has said that the Forum was necessary for effective dialogue between service providers (hospitals), the general insurance companies, TPAs, and the consumers in general.
This Forum would help form a consultative role in order to enable the evolution of a regulatory structure to take care of the growing needs of the sector. The Forum would meet at least twice a year and the members of would be in office for a period of two years.
Last year from October 1, IRDA had allowed portability of health insurance schemes, thereby allowing customers to change insurers without losing policy benefits.
Besides three standalone health insurers, Star Health & Allied Insurance, Apollo Munich and Max Bupa, a number of other players including National Insurance Company, United India and Oriental Insurance and ICICI Lombard are also active in this field.