In a ground-breaking judgment, the Madras High Court has directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to treat treatments under Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) on par with those in Allopathy for the purpose of medical insurance reimbursement.
The court acknowledged the vital role played by AYUSH practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when specific allopathic medications were unavailable. Justice N Anand Venkatesh emphasized that policyholders should not be denied reimbursement for expenses incurred on AYUSH treatments under their medical insurance policies.
This landmark decision came in response to two petitions seeking full reimbursement for AYUSH treatments received during the pandemic. The insurance company had cited IRDAI regulations that capped the reimbursement amount for AYUSH treatments. The court, however, ruled that any preference for Allopathy over AYUSH would be discriminatory and urged IRDAI to consider this while formulating future policies.
“The patient’s choice of treatment stream should be respected, and expenses incurred, irrespective of the stream, should be reimbursed. This principle must be implemented in all future policies,” stated the bench.
This judgment recognizes the autonomy of patients in choosing their preferred mode of treatment and paves the way for equal treatment of AYUSH and allopathic treatments in the realm of medical insurance reimbursement.
