BELLARY: Pragathi Arogya Bima Yojana, a scheme for providing health insurance cover for members of self-help groups, has been launched. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Pragathi Grameen Bank, Bellary, and National Insurance Company Ltd. here on Wednesday.

To start with, the aim is to cover around five lakh SHG members and their family members under the scheme. The beneficiaries will have to pay an annual premium of Rs. 100 per family and they will get reimbursement of medical expenditure up to Rs. 10,000 per person or family of four members a year on floater benefit.

Addressing a joint press conference here, Vincent D'Silva, chairman of Pragathi Grameen Bank and Ashwathnarayan, regional manager of National Insurance Company, Bangalore, said that this was the first time in the country that health insurance cover was being provided to SHG members in a big way.

There are over 35,100 SHGs in all the seven districts covered by Pragathi Grameen Bank with over seven lakh members. Insurance cover would be provided to people between the age group of three and 65.

Mr. D'Silva also said that he was having a dialogue with the insurance company to enlarge the scope of the present insurance cover by way of providing wages to members of SHGs when they are hospitalised.

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