title: Health insurance--a challenge in India.
abstract: In India, indemnity health insurance started about 3 decades ago. Mediclaim was the most popular product. Indian insurers and multinational companies have not been enthusiastic about starting health insurance in spite of the availability of a good market because health insurers have historically incurred losses. Losses have been caused by poor administration. Because it is a small portion of their total businesses, insurers have never tried sincerely to improve deficiencies or taken special interest. Hospital management and medical specialists have the spirit of entrepreneurship and are prepared to learn quickly and follow managed care principles, though they are not currently practiced in India. Actuarial data from the health insurance industry is sparse, but data from alternative sources will be helpful for starting managed healthcare. In my opinion, if properly administered, a "limited" managed care product with appropriate precautions and premium levels will be successful and profitable and will compete with present indemnity products in India.
authors.affiliation: preswala@bom8.vsnl.net.in
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Presswala
mesh_terms: D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D015995:Prevalence