Your easy guide to avail cashless Hospitalization

Do all Health Insurance Policies offer a cashless hospitalization facility?

Today, most Health Insurance policies do offer a cashless hospitalization facility and route your policy through a Third-party Administrator (TPA). However, you should be familiar with the terms- Network Hospital and Non-network Hospital.

Network Hospitals are those hospitals that your TPA has an agreement with. In case of hospitalization, if you get admitted to a Network Hospital you will be eligible for cashless hospitalization, subject to the other terms and conditions mentioned in your policy being fulfilled. In case you are admitted to a Non-network Hospital, you will have to settle the bills directly to the hospital and then seek reimbursement through your TPA.

Does cashless hospitalization mean I can just walk into a hospital and get admitted for treatment free of cost?

First, you need to be clear that there is no free treatment. It is just that, in the case of cashless hospitalization, the insurance company will bear the cost of treatment either fully or partially on your behalf.

Cashless hospitalization is a facility provided by most health insurance policies and enables an insured customer to obtain admission and undergo the required treatment without direct payment. The assigned TPA will mediate between the healthcare service provider (Hospital) and the Insurance company and settle the bills on behalf of the insured customer.

However it is important to understand the role of a Hospital in cashless hospitalization. The Hospital is only a facilitator and has no authority to approve or disapprove any request for cashless hospitalization. Certain protocols laid down by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) with respect to cashless hospitalization will need to be adhered to strictly.

What procedures should I follow to avail the facility of cashless hospitalization at Ramdas Hospital?

Hospitalization happens under two circumstances – Planned and Emergency. Pre-authorization approval of the estimated hospital expense is a must to avail of this facility.

Planned Hospitalization

In the case of planned admission, you would have first consulted a doctor who in turn would have advised you on the probable date of hospitalization. In such a case, you must have applied for approval of the estimated hospital expenses directly with your TPA at least 4-5 days prior to the date of hospitalization.

In case you have not applied for a pre-authorization sufficiently in advance or if the doctor treating you advises you to get hospitalized immediately after the consultation, our Insurance Help Desk will assist you through the pre-authorization procedure.

However, you will need to bear in mind that the Insurance Help Desk is only a facilitator and can in no way influence the decision on the approval. The approval can be turned down.

The pre-authorization procedure is detailed below

Establish contact with the Insurance Help Desk at the Hospital

At the Insurance Help Desk, you need to present the original health Insurance card issued to you by your TPA. And also produce a photocopy of ID proof issued by Govt. Authorities (PAN card/ Driving Licence/Voter ID card etc). In addition to this please produce your photocopy of the employee ID card if it is a corporate group insurance policy.

Collect the pre-authorization forms pertaining to your TPA

Your pre-authorization will have two sections –
general details on the health Insurance policy – to be filled in by you (the Insurance desk will assist you in case you have any difficulty) pertains to the treatment recommended for you-it needs to be filled in and duly signed by the Doctor who is treating you (do not attempt to fill this section, contact the Insurance desk in case of any difficulty)

Return the completed form to the Insurance Help Desk. The personnel at the desk will verify the form for its completeness and let you know in case of any discrepancy

Once the form is complete in all respects, the Insurance Help Desk will fax the form to the office of your TPA.

The Insurance Help Desk will revert to you on the approval status.

Emergency Hospitalization

In case of emergency hospitalization, the Insurance help desk will take up your case on a fast track basis with your TPA and is likely to receive approvals within 3 hours during any working day.

For cashless treatment, it is mandatory for the hospital to have approval from your TPA. In case of delay in receiving the approval or when you cannot wait for receiving the approval owing to medical urgency, you can undertake the treatment by paying the necessary cash deposit.

If you receive approval from your TPA after paying the cash deposit, you are entitled for a refund of the cash deposit.

What do I do if I do not get approval on my cost of treatment till the time of discharge at the Hospital?

Cashless hospitalization is linked to the approval of the estimated expenditure on your proposed treatment. In case you do not get your approval you will need to bear the entire expenditure incurred on the treatment. Therefore it is always prudent to get the approval and then get yourself admitted. You could explain the benefits of getting the approval before the date of your admission to your treating doctor as well when he recommends an immediate admission.

At Ramdas Hospital the Insurance Help Desk will not entertain any request for a refund of the amount paid if the approval comes after the process for your discharge has commenced.

Under what circumstances will the request for cashless hospitalization not be entertained?

Normally your request for approval might be rejected when:

The ailment for which hospitalization is being sought by you is not covered under your insurance policy for reasons like pre-existing ailment, specific exclusions (road traffic accident under the influence of Alcohol)

Information contained in the pre-authorization form is insufficient for the TPA to arrive at a decision and further information is not available for various reasons. However, the chances of rejection under this criterion are rare since the Insurance Help Desk at the hospital is experienced in complying with pre-authorization formalities and will advise you suitably

You have exhausted your eligible Medical Insurance cover for the year.

In case of cashless hospitalization, what are the documents the hospital requires from me at the time of discharge?

All the original documents including bills, lab reports, discharge summary, and claim form. All the original documents duly signed by you need to be submitted to the hospital.

Who are the Insurance Partners with whom Ramdas Hospital has tie-ups?

We have tie-ups with several Insurance companies. (Current list of our insurance partners is given below). However, this is dynamic and will change from time to time.

Contact Us

For further details contact us at insurance@ramdashospital.com or call us at 04933 272727