Medisep health insurance coverage; government should intervene

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Service organisations have opined that the Medisep system should be made a system where treatment can be sought without worry and the government should streamline supervision.

MS Irshad, president of the Secretariat Association, said that employees and pensioners are worried to seek treatment under the Medisep scheme. "An insurance coverage of Rs 1.5 lakh should be increased every year. Three lakh rupees in the first year. Those seeking treatment in the third year with this understanding are warned by many hospitals that they will have to pay. The kind of behaviour from private hospitals is as if patients are seeking undeserved freebies. Government should intervene to change this," he said.

Chavara Jayakumar, president of the NGO Association, said private hospitals are treating them like second-class citizens. With each passing year, instead of correcting the shortcomings and moving forward, the patients' experiences are getting worse. Employees and pensioners should be given the option to join Medisep. The treatment limit should be increased to Rs 10 lakh by adding the government's share. The reason given now is that the amount that was set aside for organ treatment has run out. It has to be resolved," said Chavara Jayakumar.

"Patients are going to the hospital with a lot of concerns such as being humiliated in hospitals, whether they will have to pay more, whether they are seeking treatment that involves Medisep, etc. This is something that needs to be resolved," said Jayachandran Kallingal, general secretary of the joint council.

MA Ajith Kumar, general secretary of the NGO union, said, "Medisep provides a much better experience as compared to the medical reimbursement system. "At the same time, the mechanism for redressal of grievances is inefficient. It has to be resolved. There should be such a system in the districts as well. Cashless treatment should be implemented in every sense. In some places, we have to pay at least partly for certain treatments," said Ajith Kumar.