15 insurers offer products covering AYUSH treatment

Delhi: At least 15 insurance companies are offering products that cover various systems of AYUSH treatment, the government said on Friday.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha that the defined health packages under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) do not cover AYUSH treatment or medication.

These two are the two major health insurance schemes of the central government.

Citing information provided by the IRDAI, he said "15 general insurance companies/standalone health insurance companies are offering products covering one or more systems of AYUSH treatment".

The regulations of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) enables general and health insurers to provide coverage for one or more systems under the AYUSH treatment, the minister said in a written reply.

"IRDAI's health insurance regulations, 2016 also define AYUSH treatment as medical and/ or hospitalisation treatments given under Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy systems," he added.