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Primary healthcare services aggregator HealthAssure is “consumerising healthcare” by “putting the economic purchasing power and decision-making in the hands of plan participants,” Varun Gera, Founder and Chief Executive, HealthAssure, told BusinessLine.
Companies that sell health cover (health insurance products) give “finance cover” and not “healthcare”, Gera noted.
For instance, consider the case of a 28-year-old woman whose days are packed with work and home responsibilities. She develops a chronic headache, and after trying some home remedies decides to seek medical help. What follows is a battery of test recommendations including an MRI and CT scan. The outcome reveals that the headache was due to stress. To diagnose the cause, she expended close to ₹10,000. Wouldn't this bill add to her stress? This is a common enough healthcare conundrum faced the world over.
“There is a looming concern about this evolution in a country such as ours. We lack primary healthcare support to meet the needs of our rising populace,” Gera said.
The annual medical insurance perk offered by most corporates in the country is a bare thread that does not address the disease burden.
A survey conducted by Assocham in 2018 has revealed that only 3 per cent workers in the corporate sector are worried about their health. A majority do not have spare resources beyond their daily needs and in the absence of a provision for affordable health services (by the employer), emerging health issues are left unaddressed. The survey further revealed that 48 per cent of such staff is sometimes fearful about their future health, 37 per cent is not fearful, while the remaining 12 per cent is totally ignorant of future health susceptibilities.
HealthAssure designs network-based primary healthcare products for corporates and works as an enabler between the corporates and primary healthcare service centres as well as providers of health insurance, he said.
The seven-year-old company has established a primary care network with over 3,100 primary care centres. It currently services 20,000 individuals every month through its app.
According to Gera, HealthAssure has serviced more than 7 lakh customers over the last six years and is aiming to reach 25 lakh in three years.
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