Kolkata, Apr 27 (PTI) The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Tuesday urged hospitals not to discriminate between patients having cash and cashless policies while treating COVID-19 cases.

It also asked insurers to see to it that cashless services are available for COVID-19 patients who are insured.

The IRDA missive comes amid reports that some families of COVID-19 patients were allegedly forced to opt for cash payment for settling hospital bills despite having cashless insurance policies.

"We have requested the hospitals not to discriminate between cash and cashless patients. We have written to the insurers as well, urging them to make sure that the agreement between the companies and hospitals is honoured.

"I am sure these difficulties will be addressed," IRDA Member (Life), K Ganesh, said, during a virtual interactive session with the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce.

An official of a city hospital said some of the issues regarding insurance claims of COVID-19 patients have come up due to shortage of staff amid the pandemic, and delay in receiving the settlement amount.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)