News Analysis India

Tag: health insurance scheme

  • Punjab government to cover 8.5 lakh farming families under health insurance scheme

    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.

  • Rajasthan to roll out health insurance coverage scheme on May 1, registration starts from April 1

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Rajasthan will roll out its ambitious universal health insurance coverage scheme on May 1, the registration process for which will start from April 1, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday.

    Under the scheme, announced in the state budget for 2021-22 by Gehlot, every family will get an insurance cover of Rs five lakh by paying Rs 850 annually.

    “We are going to implement the universal health coverage scheme from May 1 and registration will start from April 1,” the chief minister said at a virtual programme of the medical education department.

    He said the medical and health sector is the topmost priority for his government.

    “Development works, water, electricity, education, irrigation, social welfare and other sectors are also on the government’s priority list, but health is the topmost priority area for us,” Gehlot said.

    He said the state government had launched the “Nirogi Rajasthan” campaign and the preparations for it, which started in December 2019, proved to be crucial in March 2020 at the time of the coronavirus outbreak.

    “The corona management of the government was excellent, due to which the recovery rate was the highest and the mortality rate was the lowest in the state. We have strengthened our medical infrastructure and the per-day corona testing capacity is 70,000 now,” the chief minister said.

    He said Rajasthan’s “Bhilwara model” was praised worldwide and the “No Mask, No Entry” slogan was followed in the UK also.

    Highlighting the medical facilities in the state, Gehlot said his government is exploring the possibility of tie-ups with foreign universities for nursing-training courses.

    He said the numbers of medical colleges, seats in the MBBS and MD courses have increased in the state and the government is developing model community health centres (CHCs).

    Expressing concern on the second wave of coronavirus cases, Gehlot said the state government has imposed certain restrictions, which would be made stricter if the situation worsens.

    However, he ruled out the possibility of clamping a lockdown, saying it causes losses and is not a solution.

    The chief minister said if required, the state government would impose stricter restrictions without clamping a lockdown.

    Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal, Transport Minister Pratap Singh and senior officials attended the programme during which the foundations of various projects were laid and a few other projects were inaugurated.