HDFC Bank has tied up with Apollo Hospitals Ltd. to offer its customers unsecured, pre-approved loan of up to ₹40 lakh for medical expenses incurred at the healthcare chain. ‘The Healthy Life Programme’ will be offered exclusively to HDFC Bank customers at Apollo 24/7. As per the plan, the bank’s customers will have round-the-clock access to an emergency doctor at the hospital at no cost along with benefits such as a choice of payment options and ease of finance for treatment at all Apollo Hospitals.The initiative was launched digitally by HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri, and Apollo Hospitals Group chairman, Prathap C. Reddy in the presence of Apollo Hospitals group executive vice-chairperson Shobana Kamineni, and HDFC Bank MD-designate Sashidhar Jagdishan.The two biggest challenges in a medical emergency or keeping healthy are access to trusted, quality healthcare and easy finance at scale. The coming together of these two leading players aims to address precisely this through the combined reach of the two organizations, a HDFC Bank official said. “To me it is like a mini health mission that will revolutionise access to quality healthcare for millions of our countrymen. They can get medical services at a place and time of their choice. ““The loans will be disbursed almost instantly when the need for money arises, and the patients, who are HDFC Bank customers, will receive preferential treatment,” said Mr. Puri.About 40% of India is only about 30 minutes away from an Apollo pharmacy while over 85% of the districts in the country are served by an HDFC Bank branch. The two organisations have the potential to initially serve 65 million existing HDFC Bank customer along with the new ones who will be onboarded along the journey of this partnership, added Ms. Kamineni.
A letter from the Editor
Dear subscriber,Thank you!Your support for our journalism is invaluable. It’s a support for truth and fairness in journalism. It has helped us keep apace with events and happenings.The Hindu has always stood for journalism that is in the public interest. At this difficult time, it becomes even more important that we have access to information that has a bearing on our health and well-being, our lives, and livelihoods. As a subscriber, you are not only a beneficiary of our work but also its enabler.We also reiterate here the promise that our team of reporters, copy editors, fact-checkers, designers, and photographers will deliver quality journalism that stays away from vested interest and political propaganda.Suresh Nambath
