New Delhi, June 26 -- Imagine this: you have some health issues and visit a doctor. She prescribes you medicines and a couple of diagnostic tests. You pay a good amount of money for the doctor's consultation, medicines and tests, and wonder whether your health insurance policy will cover it.

Well, here's the bad news: most health insurance policies do not cover outpatient department (OPD) expenses. According to a report by India Insurtech Association, India's OPD spending amounted to a massive $37.7 billion in FY24, of which retail OPD insurance accounted for less than 0.1%.

Noting this gap, insurers have of late started to offer OPD coverage and healthcare startups have also entered the space, providing OPD subscription plans directly ...