Flying costs can kill in medical emergencies

Mumbai: Sanjeev Sharma (name changed), a 58-year-old Lucknow resident, was brought to Mumbai by a chartered flight last Saturday to undergo bypass surgery at a heart institute in Bandra. While the surgery and hospital stay cost him Rs3.5 lakh, Sharma had to pay as much as Rs5.2 lakh for the charter from Bafna Aviation at the rate of Rs80,000 an hour.
If charter operators have their wish, however, patients like Sharma may not have to take such a big hit in future. They are asking that ‘medical evacuation’ be made part of medical insurance policies, in the run-up to the Union budget.
Arun Lohiya, CEO, Bafna Aviation says that abroad, medical evacuation charges are included in the insurance policy. In India, however, insurance comes into picture only when the patient is admitted to hospital.
If the medical insurance policy can take care of even half the evacuation charge, it would be a huge boon to policyholders, Jigar Thaleshwar, senior manager of Deccan Charters says.
But BK Sinha, head of Unison Insurance Brokers, says including medical evacuation in insurance will make policies very costly.
20/02/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2010