Mediclaim now for Ayush treatment

Hyderabad: The recent notification by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority to include Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) methods of treatment in mediclaim policies, has boosted the morale of doctors in the Indian system of medicine.

The regulation has brought recognition to alternative treatment modalities and also given consumers an option they didn’t have before. The only stipulation is that the patient has to avail of treatment either in a government hospital or in an institute recognised by the government, the National Accreditation Board of Health and the Quality Council of India.

The Indian system of medicine has a huge consumer base with more people opting for alternative forms of medicine. Dr Mukesh Batra of Dr Batra’s Homoeopathy said, “Patients now have more options as they can pick the line of treatment they are comfortable with. There are over five lakh homoeopathy doctors in India. The Indian homoeopathy industry has a turnover of Rs 2,758 crore and it is growing by 30 per cent every year.”

Including Ayurveda for mediclaim will make it more affordable, said Ayurvedic doctor Dhanraj. “Some treatments were exclusively priced as they catered to a few. But now, it will be possible to reach out to a larger number of people,” he said.

The cost of treatment would come down. For example, a conventional kidney stone operation costs between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000, while homoeopathy treatment costs Rs 2,500. “Medicines are not that costly and it requires completion of a cycle. Patients should understand that it is slow, but effective,” Dr Srinivas of Srinivasa Homoeopathy at Secunderabad, said.

Accounting for the inclusion of AYUSH, Dr K.P. Vasuki, commissioner of AYUSH said, “The step will take a lot of the burden off the government in terms of health costs. Currently, health care spending in terms of surgeries and medications is very high. In the alternative system, the cost of medicine is merely one-fourth of the complete allopathic cost, which should bring about a change.”