Insurance Coverage for PD Patients in India: A small note

Hola folks!

I had recently posted about whether we need a separate community for Dialysis Patients in India [this one].

Have not really acted on this BUT, a few of you did ping me for private insurance options with PD coverage (I have worked closely with individuals in the Indian supply chain). So here is what I know (from my limited information):

1. IRDAI has released a directive to Indian insurance providers to cover PD: https://www.expresshealthcare.in/news/irdai-issues-guidelines-on-including-peritoneal-dialysis-in-health-insurance-policies/426890/
2. Insurance policies that are not complying with this can be informed of this directive. Please communicate with them in writing requesting for reimbursement. And if they refuse coverage, do share the IRDAI directive along with the Insurance copy.
3. In case of further refusal, ensure that there is an official/written record for it. You can then submit it on the IRDAI grievance portal, Bima Bharosa, here. Or, contact the toll-free call centre or make a physical submission by referring to these steps: https://policyholder.gov.in/how-to-make-a-complaint

The above was shared with me by individuals in the industry - I have personally never been involved nor have tried any of it. It just felt better to have a starting point to work on as compared to nothing?

If you all are open to it, we can also treat this post like a list of insurance policies that do and don't cover PD in India. Might be a helpful place for newer patients to start!

Lastly, for those of you concerned about fluid and/or APD machine costs - there are Indian brands in the PD market. You can check if their costings work better for your region.

As always, you are free to DM me for more information. I usually do *not* have all the answers - doesn't mean that I cannot research more into it. Will be doing my best to help (^^)

Cheers!

P.S., there are also government schemes to support with PD. A few are for BPL families (I assume that the average Indian Redditor is not one of them). Others do subsidise certain patients in non-BPL families. I will try to work on a post for this later.