Thiruvananthapuram: Insurance for 42 lakh families

Thiruvananthapuram: Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac on Thursday announced four components of the comprehensive health security scheme, including insurance coverage for 42 lakh people in the state.

The government is entering into the tender process of  the comprehensive insurance scheme which will come into existence in May. The revenue from the Kerala lottery will be set apart for this.

The insurance company will bear the treatment expenses worth Rs 1 lakh for all members of the insured families. The government will bear the expenses above this up to Rs 5 lakh and give the money to the hospitals concerned for designated health procedures of lifestyle diseases like cancer and heart diseases.

All the insured will have the claim for this. All schemes, including the erstwhile RSBY and Karunya under the health department will be combined with the new scheme.

The government will remit the insurance premium for the 42 lakh families. Over ten lakh employees and pensioners have their own health insurance. There are ten lakh families receiving ESI benefit. The remaining 20 lakh individuals have the right to join this insurance-cum-assurance scheme by remitting their own premium.

It is a universal scheme ensuring health security to all families in Kerala. Eighty percent of the insurance benefits of RSBY schemes was received by public hospitals. Renovations are being carried out in secondary and tertiary sectors for ensuring this standard in ‘Karunya comprehensive health insurance Scheme’ also.

Public participation is essential for disease prevention and for monitoring morbidity. An extensive health force, comprising sub-centres and associated ASHA workers, should take responsibility for this in each panchayat and municipality. This is the crux of the Ardram Mission.

The other components of the universal health security scheme include the best network of primary health centres. Already, 150 PHCs have been upgraded to family health centres. In the next stage, 200 more hospitals will be upgraded to this status. All the PHCs will be upgraded to family health centres step by step. Kerala will become a region in which the Astana Global Health Conference Declaration of primary health services will be implemented in full measure.

Modernisation of secondary and tertiary hospitals will be taken up in the second stage. All medical colleges will have oncology departments, all district hospitals cardiology departments and all taluk hospitals trauma care centres and dialysis facilities.

Participation of private Hospitals: In the third stage, the government will ensure the participation of private hospitals in secondary and tertiary health care services. These are to be provided at reasonable rates.

The honorarium for Asha workers has been enhanced by Rs 500. The governments wants to ensure disease prevention  activities, treatment for diseases and palliative care if treatment becomes ineffective.