How many times do you remember getting a call from a friend or a relative telling about an emergency hospitalization and need of cash? You rush, many times in the middle of night to the nearest ATM and retrieve thousands of rupees that are required for getting yourself admitted in today's good quality hospitals. Cashless Service is a facility which is designed specifically to avoid these- panicky and tensed moments during hospitalizations.
What is Cashless Hospitalization?
In Cashless Service, when you get hospitalized with a network hospital, you do not have to settle the bill with the hospital. The Insurance Company represented by the TPA, co-ordinates with the hospital and settles the bill.
How does it function?
Health insurance companies make tie-ups with hospitals after negotiating their rates and checking their quality. These hospitals are called as Network Hospitals; Cashless service is available only in these hospitals. To know which hospitals are in your health insurance provider's network, check the name of your TPA in the policy and visit its website or call their toll free number.
TPA or Third Party Administrators are the representatives of the health insurance companies who are responsible for settling the claims both reimbursement claims as well as cashless claims. It is the TPAs who have to approve your request for cashless and provide the service.
Pre authorization form is the form that you get at the insurance desk in the hospital or in the website of the TPA, after being duly filled by the patient and the hospital's representatives, it is sent to the TPA which decides to approve or reject the claim.
Now about the process for Cashless Facility:
Planned hospitalization: In a planned hospitalization, you have a recommendation for hospitalization by your doctor and have time to decide which hospital to go to. You have to complete the formalities at least 3-4 days before you are hospitalized.
Take a look at the list of network hospitals provided while buying the policy or call the toll free number on your health insurance card and select the network hospital nearest and most convenient to you.
Show your health insurance card and fill up the first part that is to be filled by the patient of the pre-authorization' form that you get in the insurance desk of the network hospital or which you can download from website of your TPA.
The other part of the form will be filled by the attending physician.
Provide the filled form on the insurance desk of your hospital, the person at the insurance desk will verify its completeness and then fax it to the TPA.
The TPA will then process the form and either approve or reject the request.
If your form is approved, the TPA will send the authorization letter with an approved amount for the treatment.
You have to follow up with the TPA to know the status of the request.
Emergency hospitalization: In an emergency hospitalization, the important thing is to get the patient treatment at the earliest. You need to start the procedure for cashless facility within 24 hours of hospitalization. To know more about What is Cashless Hospitalization?
What is Cashless Hospitalization?
By: Niyatijs
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