India's health insurers propose 10% co-payment, regulators must intervene

India's General Insurance Council has proposed mandatory 10% co-payment for insured patients on all health policies starting January 1, 2027, sparking concerns over patient burden and anti-competitive behavior. Regulators IRDAI and CCI are urged to intervene. The proposal includes a 5 lakh rupee cap on co-payment, but average claims in 2023 were just 42,000 rupees, with only 0.2% exceeding 10 lakh, making the cap largely ineffective. Critics argue it unfairly targets vulnerable patients, who lack bargaining power in emergencies, unlike insurers. GIC justifies the move to curb hospital cost inflation, but has set no timeline for benchmark tariffs or hospital blacklisting. A 1980s US study found co-payment reduced both effective and ineffective care, harming patient outcomes.