National Health Authority Additional CEO Basant Garg claimed that Tripura is the first northeastern state to introduce universal health insurance for all.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday launched a universal health insurance scheme under which 4.15 lakh families in the northeastern state will get insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh.
Under the Chief Minister’s Jan Arogya Yojana (CM-JAY), 4.15 lakh families, including government employees not covered under PM-JAY, will benefit from health insurance of Rs 5 lakh each.
“People become helpless when a medical emergency occurs. Many people who are not covered by PM-JAY come to me with pleas for financial help to meet the exorbitant medical expenses. It has become a limitation for me to help all these people. This has prompted me to come up with an alternative scheme for people who need help in treatment,” Saha said while launching the CM-JAY.
“It is indeed a historic moment for the state that we are rolling out CM-JAY to reach out to the people with a healing touch for those who need government assistance. Under the scheme, each enrolled family will get health insurance of Rs 5 lakh annually,” he said.
Saha said the scheme is designed in such a way that the patient’s family will get 15 days of free medicine even after discharge from government or private hospitals and the entire process will be cashless.
“Initially, there may be challenges in implementing the universal health insurance scheme, as happened with the Prime Minister JAY, but these issues will be addressed to ensure that the benefits reach the targeted people. In last year’s budget speech, we promised to provide health insurance to the people. and the government has delivered,” he said.
National Health Authority Additional CEO Basant Garg claimed that Tripura is the first northeastern state to introduce universal health insurance for all.
Chief Secretary JK Sinha termed the government’s decision to roll out universal health insurance as a “historic and courageous” step for the welfare of the people.
“Under PM-JAY, about 5.12 lakh families of the state are covered, but there is no health insurance for about 4.15 lakh families of the state. This scheme – CM-JAY will ensure that all families of the state get health insurance benefits. This is a historic and courageous decision, taking into account the limited resources of the state,” he said.
An amount of Rs 69 crore has been provided in the budget for the implementation of the universal health insurance scheme.
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First print: February 15, 2024 | 4:20 PM IST