National Health Claim Exchange Launch in 2-3 Months

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The National Health Claim Exchange (NHCX) is likely to be launched in the next two-three months, official sources said on Wednesday.

The NHCX is a digital health claims platform developed by the National Health Authority (NHA) to ensure interoperability and faster processing of health insurance claims.

The National Health Authority (NHA) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) last year joined hands to operationalise the NHCX.

The Irdai, through a circular in June 2023, had advised all insurers and providers to onboard the NHCX.

Insurance companies have separate portals, making it cumbersome and time-consuming for hospitals, patients, and other stakeholders to process health insurance claims.

"The NHCX is ready and is likely to be launched in the next two-three months. The claim exchange has been developed as part of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)," the source said.

Through NHCX, all insurance companies will be on a single platform. It will serve as a gateway for exchanging claims-related information among various stakeholders in the healthcare and health insurance ecosystem.

"The integration with NHCX would enable seamless interoperability of health claims processing, enhancing efficiency and transparency in the insurance industry, benefitting policyholders and patients," the source said.

The NHA and Irdai have been holding meetings and organising workshops with hospitals and insurance companies for full integration of 40-45 health insurance companies with NHCX.

Several insurance companies such as Aditya Birla Health Insurance, Star Health and Allied Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Insurance Company, and HDFC Ergo Insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, The New India Assurance Company, Tata AIG General Insurance company, Paramount TPA, United India Insurance Company have completed NHCX integration.

The current process of exchanging claims lacks standardisation across the ecosystem with most data exchange occurring through PDF/manual methods and the processes vary significantly among insurers, TPAs, and providers, leading to high cost of processing each claim, officials had said.