Correct me if I am wrong but isn't IRDA supposed to be the Insurance regulator? At least the "I" and "R" in its fancy acronym indicate so. Then why is it refusing to mediate between the big hospital chains and the Insurance companies? It is good to say that market forces should determine the premium rate but are our markets efficient enough for that? Can anyone guarantee that the insurance companies won't all collude to set the premiums at an artificial high level?

I agree Leelavati might be high up in the "fancy" hospital scale. I don't know about Apollo, Fortis or Gangaram. But clubbing Hinduja and Jaslok with them won't do. They surely fall somewhere in between the government hospitals and the premium ones.

So rather than just throwing its hands up in the air, why doesn't the regulator work on grouping these hospitals in some tranches. The insurers can then decide the premiums for these tranches. And the policyholders get to choose which one suits them.

Perhaps, we should ask Sebi to find a way to step in this somewhere. That will surely cause IRDA to look seriously into this. Any ideas, Mr. Bhave? :-)