Aid for insurance PSUs to cover HIV+

NEW DELHI The government is working on an insurance scheme for HIV patients by which the government seeks to subsidise public sector insurers to cover HIV-positive patients. The proposal was mooted by finance minister P Chidambaram at the group of ministers meeting on insurance. The move comes at a time when the country is on the brink of becoming the world capital for AIDS with more than five million people diagnosed HIV-positive.

The premium charged by the insurance companies will be much higher than premiums for other health insurance schemes. Analysts said the premiums could be determined by total annual cost of HIV treatment, which is $365 in India, a 10th of what it costs in the US.
According to highly-placed sources in the government, Mr Chidambaram has asked other members to actively consider the issue. The ministry is likely to hold a meeting with various insurance PSU heads next month to arrive at a decision.

A top official at Oriental Insurance Co said, “The government has consulted us on the issue. We feel that HIV cases are uninsurable with no credible statistics available. The disease has already reached pandemic proportions, and the potential of it getting bigger is real. However, the government must consider a subvention of sorts. At least 80% of the claims should be compensated. Globally, insurance companies have tried to address HIV.”

Global consulting & actuarial firm Milliman assistant managing director Alam Singh said, “An insurance scheme for HIV-positive patients will not be a traditional insurance product but more of a disease management programme. The cap on the prices of HIV drugs has already ensured affordability, but the challenge is delivery and financing. In addition, co-morbidities require aggressive management. Access and adherence to medication therapy is often the key factor in improving the lifespan of an HIV patient. This is a workable proposition if the initiative is well-designed.”

Earlier this year, the United Nations said India has the highest number of HIV infections in the world at 5.7 million. Experts say the government has understated figures on HIV patients and, on the ground, it could be much more. Though the number of patients is significantly less than 1% of the billion-plus population, in absolute terms, the number of HIV patients is huge. Besides, there is a difference between being diagnosed HIV-positive and having full-blown AIDS.

Meanwhile, labour minister Oscar Fernandes moved the proposal for HIV insurance, which is now learnt to have been taken under serious task by other ministries as well. The GoM has had three rounds of meetings so far. Other members include Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, minister of state for labour Oscar Fernandes, minister of social justice & empowerment Meira Kumar and minister of state for urban housing & employment Kumari Shailja.