Celebrities getting preferential treatment, ‘troubling trend’: Medical body questions Rs 25 lakh insurance claim of Saif Ali Khan

A Mumbai-based medical body has questioned the alleged preferential treatment given to actor Saif Ali Khan while granting his insurance claim. Writing to IRDAI, the body demanded more transparency in the manner in which insurance claims are sanctioned.

In a letter to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, the Association of Medical Consultants expressed concern over the manner in which an insurance claim of Rs 25 lakh by actor Khan was granted immediately by the insurance provider. The AMC said it seemed like a “preferential treatment” compared to benefits granted to common policyholders. 

Images had emerged in social media which showed the actor had raised a claim of Rs 36 lakh for his five-day treatment at Lilavati Hospital and Rs 25 lakh was reportedly granted by the insurance provider. “The instance highlights troubling trend, where celebrities and high-profile individuals and patients with corporate policies receive favourable terms and high cashless limits, while ordinary citizens struggle with insufficient coverage and low reimbursement rates,” the body noted.

The doctors’ body said such practices undermine the principle of equitable healthcare access. “Preferential treatment based on celebrity status creates a two-tier system, which is discriminatory against ordinary policyholders,”  the body charged.

The medical body sought an investigation by IRDA into the incident and ensure “all policyholders are treated equally”. They also sought measures to prevent preferential treatment while granting claims and to ensure transparency in the sanctioning process.

Actor Khan was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital on January 16 after he was stabbed by an alleged intruder at his house in Bandra. Khan was stabbed six times and reportedly suffered deep wounds in his neck, left hand and near his spine in the back. He was discharged from hospital from January 21.