The battle between hospitals and insurers has escalated, with the Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Hospital Board accusing Star Health Insurance of leaving patients stranded by suspending cashless services at several major hospitals across the country.
Hospitals say the move has sparked chaos, with families suddenly forced to arrange funds upfront for treatments they believed would be covered cashlessly. Institutions such as Care Hospitals (Vizag), Manipal Hospitals (Delhi, Gurugram), Max Hospitals (North India), Metro Hospital (Faridabad), Medanta (Lucknow), Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital (Delhi), Sarvodaya (Faridabad) and Yatharth Hospitals have reported abrupt withdrawal of services.
Adding to the strain, Star Health has also slowed or halted the empanelment of new hospitals, restricting patient choice in regions where quality care is already scarce. Well-known facilities such as Fortis Manesar, Max Dwarka, Medanta Noida, Care Health City Vizag, and Jupiter Indore remain outside the insurer’s network.
“Patients buy health insurance for one reason cashless treatment when they need it most. Denying this facility after collecting premiums is unjust,” said Dr. Girdhar Gyani of AHPI and Dr. Abul Hasan of the IMA Hospital Board. Both urged Star Health to restore cashless services immediately, warning that families should not be forced into reimbursement routes that defeat the very purpose of insurance.
The hospital associations insist their stance is not arbitrary but a reaction to Star Health’s “unilateral” de-empanelment moves. On September 14, they issued a joint statement demanding urgent restoration of services and fair treatment for hospitals.
The insurance side, however, tells a different story. The General Insurance Council (GIC) threw its weight behind Star Health, condemning AHPI’s threats of suspension as “unwarranted” and damaging to policyholders.
“The Council had already scheduled a meeting with AHPI for September 2 to resolve issues, but AHPI chose to delay. Despite this, they went ahead with unilateral action, risking disruption,” GIC said in a statement.
Reassuring customers, GIC stressed that Star Health policyholders’ coverage remains intact and uninterrupted. It described tariff negotiations and billing disagreements as normal industry practices that should not compromise patient care.
With both sides trading accusations, patients remain caught in the middle hospitals bracing for irate families, insurers insisting services are protected, and trust in India’s cashless health insurance ecosystem hanging in the balance.
