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India Inc plans to vaccinate staff for free under employee benefits offering

vaccinate staff for free under employee benefits

Vaccine not covered under health insurance

Indian corporates such as Reliance Industries, State Bank of India (SBI), Accenture, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) & RPG Group among others are in the race to inoculate their employees and their families.

On March 2, the government opened up vaccine distribution to private hospitals, which has led to an explosion in demand. Even in the restricted target group, 1.1 million people were vaccinated across India on March 4.

The government, however, has not yet allowed private buyers to source directly from either the government or vaccine makers though individuals can pay for the vaccine and get the jab.

“Many of the large corporations we service have been enquiring about inoculating their employees and their families. I am sure once this segment is opened we will see even greater momentum in our vaccination drive,” says Girish Rao – Chairman & Managing Director, Vidal Health Insurance TPA Services.

TPAs are intermediaries between the insurance company and the policyholder who process claims and make settlements.

“At Vidal Healthcare, we are exploring opportunities to facilitate this initiative for our customers. I am viewing Covid Vaccination as an economic initiative as much as it is a healthcare initiative,” he says.

“All these corporations will get back to full operations once their work force is inoculated. The knock-on impact on the economy will be immense,” Rao says.

The government has in the Phase-II of the inoculation drive, allowed people older than 60 years and those above 45 years with co-morbidities to be vaccinated. It has asked private hospitals serving as vaccination centres to charge Rs 250 per dose of a vaccine.

Incidentally, the regular health insurance policies in India mostly cover hospitalisation related expenses and do not cover vaccines.

Vaccinations fall under employee benefits and are not covered by insurance since there is no risk to underwrite.

“Some insurers are evaluating including this in comprehensive health policy to meet customer needs and be pro-active in the market,” Rao adds.

Sanjay Datta, chief-underwriting, claims and reinsurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance says while vaccines are not covered under health insurance, insurers on their part will help their clients implement the process as part of the employee benefits process. The cost of the vaccine, which is capped at Rs 250, will be borne by the companies.

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, has argued for private sector participation to scale up distribution rapidly.

According to reports, nearly one million people, who are eligible in the second phase, have received the first dose of the two-shot vaccine so far. India has identified a population of 270 million to inoculate in this second phase. After these two phases, nearly one billion people would still remain, and the private sector can play a massive role in speeding up the process.

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