Suppose you have been in the hospital for a few days. The doctor comes on rounds and declares you fit for discharge. Now you pack your bag to go home, then the hospital staff asks you to wait for some more time. Afternoon turns into evening, but you are not discharged from the hospital, because your health insurance claim has not been cleared yet. The staff says that the hospital will not discharge you until the insurer signs the bills. The staff says that if it takes a few more hours, you will have to spend another night in the hospital. This will also increase your hospital bill. This happens with many people every day. People become fit, but have to wait for hours for discharge. IRDAI issued a master circular In view of this problem, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued a master circular today i.e. on 29 May. In this, 55 circulars have been repealed and all the rights given to the policy holder in health insurance have been brought at one place. IRDAI said that the insurance company will have to give the final authorization within 3 hours of receiving the discharge request from the hospital. Under no circumstances can the policy holder be made to wait for discharge from the hospital. If there is a delay of more than 3 hours in discharging the policy holder and the hospital charges extra, then the insurance company will bear that charge. This burden cannot be put on the policy holder. The regulator said that in the event of death of the policyholder during treatment, the insurer:
