A young Indian migrant has made a desperate appeal for help from the community as an Indian insurance provider refused to extend his mother’s cover while she is in hospital ICU and would require treatment for weeks to come.
Vikramjeet Singh’s mother Paramjit Kaur is in an induced coma in the intensive care unit of Westmead Hospital, Sydney, after suffering a serious bout of pneumonia. She has been in the hospital since 7 November after initially having a fever and flu-like symptoms. She has been diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
After himself migrating to Australia as a skilled permanent migrant last year, Mr Singh had his mother visit his family in Sydney in September.
Though his mother has a travel insurance policy that is supposed to cover up to $50,000 (US) from an Indian provider, the insurance hasn’t yet agreed to foot the hospital bill which Mr Singh expects to be over one hundred thousand dollars.
“The ICU charges are over five thousand dollars a day and it has been over twenty days since my mother is there [Hospital ICU],” Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi.
The hospital has so far handed invoices totalling nearly $11,000 for medical bills and the ICU charges will be calculated after the treatment is over.
However, Mr Singh says his mother’s insurance has so far not accepted the claim despite numerous emails and phone calls.
“I have been in touch with the company but they are repeatedly asking whether she had any pre-existing medical conditions. The doctors have already provided them with the necessary paperwork and made it clear that her illness isn’t due to a pre-existing condition,” Mr Singh says.
But what’s a bigger concern for him is that the insurance company has refused to extend his mother’s policy which will expire on December 1.
“We regret to inform you that Policy extension rejected on basis of provided details,” the insurance provider told Mr Singh via an email citing “underwriting guidelines”.
Mr Singh says in such a situation he would have to pay the hospital bills himself.
“According to doctors, my mother will require continued hospitalization for weeks. They [insurance provider] has washed its hands off and any other provider isn’t going to cover a patient in a hospital in a potentially life-threatening condition.”
“I had a meeting with them [hospital staff] today and told them though I don’t have money to pay all of it right away, I am not running away from it. I have asked them to let me pay in small instalments of $200-300 a month and I will pay for as long as it takes,” he says.
Mr Singh could gather nearly $9,000 with the help of the community which he has used to pay off a part of the hospital’s medical bills.
The three-month travel insurance policy cost Mrs Kaur just under $100. But many Indian migrants have reported difficulties with making a claim with their overseas insurance providers.
Mr Singh has set up an online fundraising page to pay for his mother’s treatment.
SBS Punjabi has contacted Mrs Kaur’s insurance provider in India.
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