Insurers told to honour all claims for Covid-19 inpatient treatment
The government regulator has ordered insurance companies to honour claims for all Covid-19 inpatient treatment from March 1, when the disease was removed from the government Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) scheme.
The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) said claims must be honoured for treatment received at hospitals, hospitels and field hospitals.
However, the order does not cover treatment under the home and community isolation system.
The Thai Life Assurance Association and Thai General Insurance Association had been told to inform their members of the new order, OIC secretary-general Suthipol Taweechaikarn said.
Under UCEP, Covid patients received three days of free treatment at any facility – public or private – before being switched to hospital treatment under their state health insurance scheme. But after March 1, those who test positive for Covid-19 but do not require critical care have to pay their own medical bills if they choose to seek treatment at private hospitals. Non-critical patients can still receive free Covid-19 treatment under the home/community isolation system.
OIC said the order would solve the problem of some private hospitals refusing to treat Covid-19 patients as inpatients if their symptoms do not fit the criteria for insurance claims stipulated by the Thai Life Assurance Association.