The Hindu : Front Page : Health insurance for one crore people

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Health insurance for one crore people

C. Gouridasan Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State will set yet another example for the country when a comprehensive health insurance scheme, implemented jointly by the Union and the State governments, becomes operational on October 2, providing coverage to roughly one-third of the State population.

The scheme, an improvement on the Centrally sponsored Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), is unique in it that it will provide insurance cover to 11.79 lakh below poverty line (BPL) families identified by the Planning Commission almost free of cost. Another 10-lakh-odd families, identified as belonging to the BPL category by the State government, can get the benefit by paying a nominal portion of the annual premium. All above-poverty-line (APL) families ready to pay the full annual premium will get the cover. In the rest of the country, the coverage is limited to the Centrally identified BPL families.

The BPL families would have to pay only an annual registration fee of Rs.30. The annual insurance cover under the RSBY is for a maximum amount of Rs.30,000 for the worker, spouse, children and dependant parents, subject to a maximum of five of these family members.

The 10 lakh-odd families identified as belonging to the BPL category by the State government will have to pay an annual premium of Rs.100. The APL families will have to pay the entire premium plus the cost of the ‘smart card’ being issued to all the insured, together costing around Rs.550.

Kerala will also have the distinction of being the only State where all the districts come under the insurance scheme.

Inaugurating a State-level workshop on the insurance scheme here on Monday, Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan said panchayat-level task forces consisting of the Health Management Committee (HMC) and a representative of Kudumbasree would be formed to oversee the implementation of the scheme.

Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy said the government was taking steps to upgrade and modernise the facilities at government hospitals.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page