Minister for Health & Medical Education Bali Bhagat on Friday said the government would cover all districts of Jammu and Kashmir under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
“With the implementation of the scheme in the remaining districts, BPL families and senior citizens would also be able to avail the benefits of health insurance scheme,” the minister said. The scheme was initially launched by the Centre on a pilot basis including Jammu and Srinagar in December 2011, he said.
Bhagat was speaking during a meeting convened to review implementation of the scheme. He said the scheme was subsequently extended to ten more districts, five each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions. Later, the Centre approved implementation of the scheme in all 22 districts of the state, he added.
The main objective of the scheme is to provide protection to BPL families from the financial liabilities arising out of health ailments that involve hospitalisation and other expenses.
Under the scheme, BPL families comprising five members shall be entitled to cashless hospitalisation up to Rs 30,000 per family per financial year. For senior citizens of these families, an additional coverage of Rs 30,000 per senior citizen in the eligible family under Senior Citizens Health Insurance Scheme will also be available.
The minister directed the Principal Secretary, Health & Medical Education, to take immediate measures for speedy implementation of this scheme to give succour to poor families. He also called for arranging 10 per cent share of the state government for the premium amount as the remaining 90 per cent share will be borne by the Central government.