Relief for Star Health policyholders: Cashless services at 15,000+ hospitals to be restored from Oct 10

Bringing relief to thousands of patients and policyholders, the Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) and Star Health and Allied Insurance Company on Sunday said they have mutually agreed to restore cashless services at AHPI member hospitals from October 10.

In a joint statement, the two sides said they would make “all efforts” to resolve other outstanding issues, including tariff revisions, by October 31.

This decision has been taken in the interest of the patients and the policyholders to ensure that they continue to receive timely, hassle-free access to healthcare services without financial distress, the statement said.

To avoid similar standoffs in the future and protect customer interests, AHPI said it will help form a group of industry leaders to work with key insurers on an industry-level agreement.

AHPI, which represents over 15,000 hospitals across the country, had earlier warned that its members would stop offering cashless treatment to Star Health customers if disputes were not resolved by September 22, 2025.

The standoff came amid mounting scrutiny of Star Health, which topped the list of policyholder grievances in 2023-24, according to the Council of Insurance Ombudsman.

The council’s latest report showed 13,308 complaints against the insurer, more than 10,000 of which related to partial or complete claim rejections.

Hospitals have accused Star Health of forcing steep tariff cuts, making unexplained deductions on approved claims, and even withdrawing cashless services without notice, causing “severe hardship” to patients.

Insurers, on the other hand, allege that many hospitals inflate bills and resist providing cost justifications, which leave them with no option but to absorb expenses that are out of line with treatment benchmarks.

The General Insurance (GI) Council has maintained that while tariff negotiations and billing practices are part of regular business dealings, such disputes “should never be used to compromise patient care.”