JOIN USThe State government will provide medical insurance to 43 lakh below poverty line (BPL) ration card holders from December.
Addressing a press conference in Bangalore on Tuesday, Minister of State for Labour P T Parameshwara Naik said that under the medical insurance scheme for BPL families, health insurance cover up to Rs 30,000 a year, to cover hospitalisation expenses, will be provided.
Five members of a family will be entitled for the scheme. Initially, the scheme will be made available to 43 lakh BPL card holders, but later it will be extended to all below poverty line card holders (99 lakh people) in the State.
The initiative is being taken up under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, a cashless health insurance scheme of the Centre. Insurance premium for the initiative is around Rs 200 crore – 75 per cent of which will come from the Centre. Medical facilities can be availed from 614 empanelled hospitals.
Yeshaswini scheme
At another press conference, Co-operation Minister H S Mahadevaprasad said the Yeshaswini health insurance scheme would be extended to urban areas. At present, as many as 30 lakh members have been enrolled for the scheme. An enrolment drive would be taken up during the All India Co-operative Week to expand the membership to 50 lakh, the minister said.
The main theme of the Co-operation Week this year is: “Co-operation for socio-economic resurgence in changing times,” Mahadevaprasad added.