Mumbai: A substantial amount was sanctioned very promptly for cashless treatment of Saif Ali Khan at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra last week, as per leaked documents of the actor’s health insurance claim.
There were questions over how Rs 25 lakh was sanctioned so quickly after Saif got operated at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra on January 16.
Now, the Association of Medical Consultants (AMC), a group of 14,000 professionals, has brought up the issue with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Terming it as “preferential treatment” for “celebrities”, AMC stated that the claim was sanctioned by the insurance company within hours, which is not the normal scenario in most cases for common policyholders.
According to AMC’s letter, Saif’s insurance claim “highlights a troubling trend where celebrities and high-profile individuals and patients with corporate policies receive favourable terms and higher cashless treatment limits, while ordinary citizens struggle with insufficient coverage and low reimbursement rates.”
AMC pointed out that such practices create an unfair disparity and undermine the principle of equitable healthcare access.
Health insurance expert Nikhil Jha said that the insurance company would not have paid the claim in case of any common person.
“The Insurance company sanctioned 25 lakhs within a few hours to Lilavati Hospital for the treatment of Saif Ali Khan. The normal process is to ask for an FIR copy in medicolegal cases. The insurance company waived this requirement and immediately approved the cashless request for 25 lakhs,” Jha wrote on X.
