By PTI
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has decided to bring nearly 8.5 lakh farmers and their families under the ambit of the health insurance cover for the year 2021-22.
All the farmers having ‘J’ forms and ‘sugarcane weighment slips’ would be eligible for this health scheme.
‘J’ forms are needed for availing finance, subsidy claims and tax waivers.
To facilitate the farmers to apply for this scheme in the easiest way, the Punjab Mandi Board has launched a dedicated portal for first time from this year. Now, the farmers need not to visit market committee office to apply manually as was the case earlier.
The interested farmers can simply apply on Mandi Board’s portal, www.emandikaran-pb.in, uploading related documents, said an official statement on Sunday quoting Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Lal Singh.
Singh added that the Board would pay the entire premium for the insurance cover of all the farmers, who will get cashless treatment facility up to Rs 5 lakh per annum.
He further said all these farmers and their families will now be covered with effect from August 20, 2021.
He also informed that the number of farmers covered under the health insurance scheme during the last year of the scheme stood at around 5.01 lakh based on ‘J’ forms and ‘sugarcane weighment slips’.
Now, the number of farmers has reached nearly 8.5 lakh, with 7.91 lakh farmers having ‘J’ forms registered with the Mandi Board and 55,000 cane growers, he added.
Singh also said these 5.01 lakh farmers, who have already been registered under the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana last year, need not re-apply on portal.
They will be extended the benefit for the next year based on earlier documents, but remaining nearly 3.5 lakh farmers registered as ‘J’ form holders and ‘sugarcane weighment slips’ after October 1, 2020, would have to apply on portal for availing health Insurance.
The Market Committees have also been directed to facilitate every farmer, in case he needs any help to avail this cashless treatment facility in a seamless manner, he said.
Meanwhile, Mandi Board Secretary Ravi Bhagat said the eligible farmers can apply online on portal to avail the health facilities from empaneled hospitals from August 20 this year.
He further said that apart from the family head, husband/wife, father/mother, unmarried children, divorced daughter and her minor children, widowed daughter-in-law and her minor children would also be considered eligible to derive benefit under the scheme.
These farmers can approach any of the 642 empanelled private hospitals and 208 government hospitals for treatment facility of up to Rs 5 lakh for 1,579 diseases.
Under the health insurance scheme, medical conditions including major surgical treatments such as heart surgery, cancer treatment, joint replacement and accident cases, among others, are covered.
