Odisha Govt Extends BSKY Benefits to 5-18 Year Kids

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has extended the benefits of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) to the children under 5-18 years age group whose names are not in the list but their parents are enrolled under the scheme.

The Odisha health and family welfare department on Tuesday wrote a letter to all the BSKY empanelled hospitals in this connection, a state government official said on Wednesday.

“It has come to the notice of the State Health Assurance Society that in some cases even though a family is covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) / State Food Security Scheme (SFSS), the names of some child members of a family are left out of the NFSA/SFSS database. This is due to non-availability of vacant slots in that Block for addition of new members to the NFSA/SFSS database. As a result, it is not possible on the part of the hospital to register and authenticate such child beneficiaries for cashless treatment under BSKY,” read an official release.

“In order to overcome the issue, the government has approved BSKY benefits to extend to the child members of NFSA/SFSS families, in age group of 5 to 18 years old, whose names are not there in the database of NFSA/SFSS, by blocking in the name of the father/mother, on production of documentary evidence by the parent to support the claim that the individual being treated is their child,” (SIC) the release further read.

Children below five years of age are already provided coverage under BSKY on the basis of self-declaration by the card holder that the child belongs to his/her family.

Under the BSKY scheme, a male member enjoys an insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh while a female person gets Rs 10 lakh benefit. Apart from the one-rupee rice scheme, the BSKY has proved to be a vote-fetching programme for the ruling Biju Janata Dal headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.