Following a petition filed in the Bombay High Court by the Association of Medical Consultants (AMC) on June 18 challenging the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDA) blanket ban on mediclaim patients undergoing treatment in private hospitals and clinics with lesser than 15 beds, a fresh circular was issued in Mumbai by the IRDA.

Speaking to SUNDAY MiD DAY, Dr Sudhir Naik, chairperson of AMC said, “The IRDA issued a fresh circular after we put forward the problems that patients would face owing to lack of adequate beds in hospitals. Sixty per cent of hospitals have less than 15 beds. In the fresh circular, it is mentioned that any nursing home registered with local authorities or in areas where there are no registering authorities, can use the mediclaim facility for patients undergoing treatment in hospitals/clinics,” added Dr Naik.