Hospitals and nursing homes in the metropolis are getting ready to launch a non-cooperation movement against the four government owned insurance companies as their final deadline for talks is just three days away.

Neither the GIPSA (General Insurance Public Sector Association) nor the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) have shown any inclination to respond to the Association of Medical Consultants (AMC) deadline of September 22, 2003.

The non-cooperation movement is likely to cause a total disruption to the Third Party Administrators (TPA) system as the healthcare providers will refuse to honour any of the ‘cashless service’ cards that thousands of Mediclaim policy holders have already received.

In its letter dated September 8,2003 to the office of GIPSA, the Association of Medical Consultants (AMC) in consortium with the Bombay Nursing Homes Association (BNHA), Nursing Homes Association, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Association of Hospitals and several other such associations, have expressed strong objections to the current functioning of the cashless system and have called for an immediate dialogue with GIPSA and the Third Party Administrators (TPAs), setting September 22nd as the deadline.

Should the above fail to materialize, the consortium has warned that it would resort to a mass ‘Non Co-operation Movement’, action for which would be initiated at a meeting that would be held on September 27, 2003.

Speaking to Pharmabiz.com, Dr Suresh Rao, honorary secretary, AMC said that despite numerous circulars being sent to GIPSA requesting for a meeting of all insurance companies with Third Party Administrators and consultants, there seems to be no positive feedback from the responding authorities.

“We had written four letters to GIPSA, about two to IRDA and to the Insurance division of the Finance Ministry to arrange for a meeting with the consultants and TPA’s and sort out the shortcomings by having an efficient system in place. But all this while we seem to be groping in the dark as there hasn’t been any worthwhile response from them,” he alleges.

Further with IRDA, the regulatory body for implementing the scheme, having washed aside its hands and assigned the task to GIPSA, things seem to be getting out of hand with each body passing the buck to the other. “Insurance companies put the blame on the Third Party Administrators while the TPA’s blame the Insurance companies for poor success of the scheme. Even GIPSA doesn’t contemplate doing anything, citing freshness of the scheme, as the reason for its inappropriate take-off”, shrugs Dr Parvez Sheikh, secretary of Bombay Nursing Homes Association. “All we want is some changes in the MoU and an assurance from the regulatory body,” suggests Dr Sheikh.

Responding to the claims S K Mahapatra, secretary general of GIPSA sounded perturbed and refused to take full responsibility for the claims. Lambasting the method adopted by the service providers, Mahapatra said that the Consortium didn’t have any authority to issue such a letter to the office of GIPSA, as they are not a regulated body.

“How can a non-regulatory body write something like that to a regulated body? It should be the other way round,” he demanded. “They need to sort out their differences with the insurance companies directly, as they have an agreement with these companies. It will be at least six months more till the cashless system gains ground and the flaws are sorted,” explained Mahapatra.

For now, it will be a wait and watch scenario for the insurance watchdogs until some respite is achieved, which will be known only a week from now.