WIDER HEALTH COVER FOR POOR

New Delhi: With assembly elections in six states and general elections just months away, the government is planning to expand the scope of its health insurance schemes for the poor. At a marginal premium, families above poverty line (ALP) could also get the benefit of insurance cover if the proposal goes through.
The health ministry is planning to modify the scope of its yet-totake-off Rs 8,000-crore National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) for the urban poor to cover services like outpatient care, which are not covered by the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). Health secretary Naresh Dayal told ET that his ministry was exploring the option of modifying the proposed insurance scheme under NUHM so that the urban poor can get additional benefits.
The government is also examining the possibility of raising the cover from Rs 30,000 initially proposed. These suggestions came up at a meeting of senior government officials last week. APL families are not covered under RSBY.
NUHM was announced in March this year by health minister Anbumani Ramadoss and was to be launched in four months. However, in April, the labour ministry operationalised RSBY—announced last year —for workers in the unorganised sector. Now, the health ministry, which was all set to kick start NUHM on the lines of the National Rural Health Mission, is thinking of re-designing the insurance component of this ambitious programme.
“We are looking at a variety of options. We may either launch the programme with better reach and coverage or will modify it and cover those areas that have been left out by the labour ministry. Once things get finalised, we will take it to the Cabinet for approval. All this may take 3-4 months,” Mr Dayal told ET.

Source: The Economic Times