Sunday, July 17, 2011

General Insurers Public Sector Association (GIPSA) and it's effects

Since last few months GIPSA packages have been implemented and my hospital is also allowing cashless facility for GIPSA  patients.
As per this GIPSA package whether a patient has paid premium for a triple sharing room(thus a lower premium) or a single sharing room(higher premium)they are entitled to same amount of money being released by their insurance company to the hospitals for a particular procedure.Fore example whether a patient delivers in in shared room or a single room ,hospital and doctor will get a total of Rs 35000,which includes bed charges,medicines,disposables,surgeons charge and all other expenses.At the moment most of the time hospital ends up spending more than what they get ultimately from these packages.Even for doctors the payout has gone down drastically.Now to cut costs,we have to compromise somewhere and so will the patients.We have to be particular to use minimal possible consumables which will ultimately reflect in patient care.
Whether it is conventional open hysterectomy or advanced laparoscopic TLH GIPSA package will pay only 73000 all inclusive to the hospital.While in an open hysterectomy you don't need costly instruments neither as much skill as a laparoscopic procedure,the payout to hospital and doctor will be same.Even if it is a very small uterus or the most difficult of Hysterectomy again the payout is same.Agreed that Hospitals and doctors will suffer badly but what about the patients?Despite paying huge amount of premium they will be deprived of good services.For a total laparoscopic hysterectomy one needs disposable items like harmonic,morcellators etc,the cost of which runs into several thousand.So if the hospital isn't paid for the instruments used how can it provide the services to the patients?So even if a patient could have had a laparoscopic hysterectomy will end up with open surgeries because of these rules.
God forbid if during delivery a lady has any unforseen complication like Post partum haemorrhage,it isn't covered by GIPSA and whatever the extra cost patient ends up paying from the pocket.Insurance copanies do say that incase a doctor tells these special circumstances,the bills will be taken care of,but in my daily practice till date I have seen patients paying it from their own pocket as their claims are denied by insurance companies.
Who will gain out of it?surely the insurance companies.These kind of packages will also increase unethical practices.Don't know what the future holds but it seems quite complicated at the moment.
Imagine......every year the house rent goes up ny 10%,driver's salary has gone up from 10 k to 15k,quarterly school fees of the child has gone from 28 k to 45 k........and if the earning of a doctor is coming down year by year it isn't fair.But then who said life is fair ?????

3 comments:

revribhav said...

General Insurance public sector in India is virtually a monopoly of few rich and influential people,they want the status quo of contradictory and foolish rules to continue.
I have written many RTI's since 2007 about discrepencies of GIPSA,in retaliation, one of the Insurance Companies who is admittedly guided by GIPSA dismissed me on frivolous charge of leaving Headquarters though the officer who signed the dismissal letter himself leaves HQ as per written declaration under RTI.

revribhav said...

GIPSA itself has not been a legal association
Kindly google and you will find many strange facts mostly posted by a whisle blower against systematic corruption in general insurance public sector.

revribhav said...

General Insurance public sector in India is virtually a monopoly of few rich and influential people,they want the status quo of contradictory and foolish rules to continue.
I have written many RTI's since 2007 about discrepencies of GIPSA,in retaliation, one of the Insurance Companies who is admittedly guided by GIPSA dismissed me on frivolous charge of leaving Headquarters

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