Pls don't hesitate to contact me for clarifications on my recommendations below - Vaishnavi
* Equal Insurance rights for the disabled - Chapter 13 of the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 mandates the Government to provide / implement insurance schemes for the disabled. - India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) on 1st October 2007, and has undertaken the obligation to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Persons with Disabilities without discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability. In fulfilment of this international commitment, the country is obligated to enact suitable legislation in furtherance of the rights recognized in the UN Convention. Article 25 of the CRPD relating to health includes the provision to - (e) Prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in the provision of health insurance, and life insurance where such insurance is permitted by national law, which shall be provided in a fair and reasonable manner; - Finally, imposition of conditions and denial of policies are arbitrary and discriminatory violating Articles 14 (equality before law) , and Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution of India. Current Status Pioneering NGO advocating insurance rights for India’s disabled; OASIS, reports that “People with disabilities have been denied any economic protection from ill health, for long. This has been one of the reasons of their poor health seeking behaviour too. The disabled have been denied Health Insurances because of pre-assumed notions that their disability results in greater health expenses. Some insurances have however been offered selectively, but at unaffordable premiums and unacceptable terms and conditions. Efforts to persuade and convince insurance companies to give health insurances to persons with disabilities had not resulted in any success.” RECOMMENDATIONS (Disability claims of the caused death-dismemberment-disability type are not covered below. Neither are long-term /short-term disability benefits, loss of future income cases etc. These focus primarily on access to insurance and resulting discrimination) Policies for All : While working towards the ideal of statutory universal health insurance coverage, keeping in mind the opening of the insurance market in India, policies may not be denied unless in cases of fraud. Where healthcare is unaffordable to the insured, the enhanced loading on premium should be contributed / underwritten by the State within reasonable limits. This would protect both the consumer and wherever relevant, the insurance company from unjustifiable hardship in high-cost (not high-risk) cases. Condition-al Exclusion : While presence of a pre-existing condition / disease is best declared upfront for reasons of transparency, such disclosure shall not be grounds for premium loading without justification by way of recent, regional actuarial data or exclusion of disease from insurance policy / denial of coverage for said condition / forced switch to another policy. Patching up Gaps : The recognition and inclusion of AYUSH as equal alternative to allopathic health care in welcome. However, as the future market will be largely private-insurance company driven, some critical aspects of health care may be missed due to profit-focussed cherry-picking. Eg : rehabilitation, all kinds of therapy, domiciliary care, hospice care, daycare / OP (days lost expenses and travel) etc are provided as add-ons by very few schemes despite their inclusion in ICD-10-PCS - which is quoted liberally throughout the draft. These should be identified and mandated statutorily by the State. While initiatives so far for disabled people vis-a-vis insurance are appreciated, given that disability can happen to anyone at anytime, it is in the interest of society at large that instead of standalone insurance products specially for disabled groups, disabled people and other such vulnerable / discriminated citizens be included in mainstream insurance schemes. State-sponsored health insurance schemes of Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu have already demonstrated such an inclusive approach. Add-ons which are frequently overlooked like pregnancy cover, neonate cover to be publicised or built into standard schemes. Proof against Prejudice : Data from the Niramaya Scheme, OASIS and other private offerings, existing products and by companies actual sales under Obligations of Insurers to Rural or Social Sectors) Regulations, 2005 to be developed instead of prejudicial / assumption-based risk. Defaulting companies who have not managed their quota under 2005 regulations may be penalised with timebound provision of the same gratis for a period of 7 years. This actuarial, statistical database should be linked to justification for any transfer by Insurance Company for co-contribution by the State. Based on this data, appropriate State Departments like Health, Transport, Industry, Disaster Management, Social Welfare etc can contribute their ‘share’ respectively to the State’s Corpus for high-cost, unaffordable insurance claims. Accessibility : Till such time anti-discrimination measures yield more equitable insurance coverage for all citizens, the current provision for ‘Senior Citizens Helpline’ and allied services may be extended to people with disabilities and other currently disadvantaged / discriminated groups as a ‘Policyholder Protection Helpline’. In addition to compliance with the National Building Code Accessibility Section, GIGW & WCAG 2 guidelines; insurance infrastructure and services must be compatible for disabled / disadvantaged groups by way of simple language in media, alternative formats, documents, forms, ads, websites, data etc. Communication by way of sms, sign language, braille, aac, vernacular languages to be recognised and accommodated and Customer Information Sheet must be provided in a variety of media / formats / languages.* On 29 June 2012 18:49, rahul cherian <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello all, > > Please find attached the input on the draft health regulations prepared > with input from Mr. Harish Kotian, Ms. Meenakshi Balasubramaniam, Dr. > Maneesh Gupta, Mr. Rajive Raturi, Ms. Poonam Natarajan and Ms. Reshma > Valliapan. If I have misunderstood any of your input, made any mistakes or > left anything out, please let me know asap. > > For the others, if there is anything you would like to change, add or > delete please email me before 12 pm tomorrow. Sorry for the short deadline > but I have to send it out by 4.30 pm tomorrow. > > Also, if you want to add the name of your organisations to this note do > email me before 12 pm tomorrow. > > Thanks, > > Rahul Cherian > Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability Law and Policy > +91 98403 57991 > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > For more information about our work visit www.inclusiveplanet.org.in > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. 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