Sweet tidings for the elderly population

The World Health Day was recently celebrated on April 7 to raise awareness about global wellbeing and to improve the health of people around the world. This year’s theme is “My Health, My Right”, which emphasizes a fundamental human right to access quality health care, education, and information. Health has become a very critical issue for the elderly people in India, who are faced with many challenges in the winter of their lives. Attempting to do its part to realise ‘My Health, My Right,’ for the seniors, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has literally brought tears of joy to them. It has removed age limit of 65 years for buying health insurance policies. Hitherto, those who are 65 or above are either denied health insurance policy or are charged excess premium at the discretion of the insurers.

It is a really heartening news for a country of the size of India, which has just become the world’s most populous country. It is also the fastest-growing silver economy. It is forecast India will have up to 17% of world’s elderly population by 2050. It is projected that the proportion of Indians aged 60 and above will rise from 7.5% in 2010 to 11.1% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Besides, yet another major worry of the elders has also been addressed by the insurance regulator. Elders have been grousing for years that insurance companies keep rejecting their claims if the policyholder does not disclose his or her illness at the time of taking the policy. The IRDA has taken this burden off their hearts. It has clearly spelt out that the policyholder should be insured for all the ailments after 36 months of taking the policy, whether he or she is not aware of his illness. IRDA has also reduced the moratorium to five years, while the existing rule is that the premium has to be paid for eight years in a row to avail all the services in the insurance plan.

In its circular, the IRDA has mandated it for the insurance companies to offer health policies to anyone with pre-existing medical conditions of any kind. Insurers cannot deny health cover for those with serious ailments such as cancer, heart or renal failure, and AIDS. Older patients are more susceptible to chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes and heart disease etc. It is estimated that out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) for health in India is about 62.6% of total health expenditure, which is one of the highest rates in the world.

Another significant measure by IRDA is to rule against any cap on the sum insured for AUSH treatment under non-allopathic systems such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. To make things easy for the policy holders, the insurers have now been allowed to collect premium in installments. Most of the manifestos of parties fail to touch upon the importance of dignity and respect for the elderly by mooting comprehensive medical and non-medical care.

BJP does promise to extend health insurance coverage to all individuals aged 70 and above under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. But it requires significant enhancement of healthcare system to support the elderly population.

The IRDA has met the long-felt need of the elderly - though belatedly. Now is the time for the civil society to put pressure on parties and leaders for ramping up of resources and capabilities of government agencies to pave way for quality outcomes in senior care.