News Track India: It’s really good news for Indian HIV patients as they can get insurance coverage if they want it. It is because of Chennai based ‘Star Health and Allied Company Ltd’ that pioneered the other insurance company taking initiative action in this field. Star Health, country’s first stand-alone health insurance company has put the proposal before IRDA, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for getting permission to launch this product to provide group insurance coverage for HIV infected persons. The company is eyeing to 5.7 million HIV-infected people across India including severe AIDS patient. The premiere of the insurance would be Rs.3,000 per-person-per-year that will provide the coverage of Rs. 50,000 per person”, according to Jagannathan, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company. “The compensation becomes payable if an HIV patient is confirmed to be carrying AIDS. We would work in close co-operation with non-government organizations (NGOs) and other social groups to identify HIV cases and offer insurance cover, as it is difficult to identify the affected individuals, because people ashamed in accepting this deadly disease due to social stigma. That’s why we adopted the institutional route in spite of identifying individuals'' he added. Besides this the company is also trying to communicate with a Union Territory for offering insurance coverage to the BPL, Below Poverty Line families in the nominal premium. Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV is deadly disease, which spreads via four reasons. The first reason is: unprotected sexual relationship with any stranger. The second reason is: re-using the infected syringe. The third reason is: from the infected mother to hers’ pre-natal baby. Besides this it can also be spread through the infected body fluids includes semen and blood by any accidental means. The HIV-infected person could survive his/her life like other uninfected people until he/she might goes under the deadly disease, AIDS. Acquired Immune Deficiency Virus, AIDS, the leading stage of HIV is a deadly disease. There is no cure available for it. But the patient could survive longer life if he/she gets the proper treatment. The whole treatment of AIDS is extremely. The ordinary people can’t survive its course. In this way, the insurance may be a reason of boon for those.
Source: News Track India