Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, October 08 2010:
Issuance of the smart cards to BPL families, have started.
With this as beneficiaries of National Health Insurance Scheme (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana), the smart card holders will be provided free health care services starting from November in government recognised health care centres.
Official sources said that so far 1429 smart cards under the scheme have been issued out of 27,565 BPL (Below Poverty Line) families in Imphal east where NHIS was first launched in the middle part of 2010 .
Free healthcare facilities will be provided to these smart card holders effective from next month, , said an official of the state Labour Department, the nodal agency of the NHI Scheme implementation in Manipur.
Government has identified two hospitals in the state where free medical treatment could be availed of by a NHIS smart card holder.
For delivery cases, they can get free healthcare service at Langol View Clinic, Imphal while for other ailments they can go for treatment at Public Hospital, Hatta, Imphal.
Beds will be always be reserved for smart card holders in these two hospitals.
Even though the National Health Insurance Scheme (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana) was implemented in the country six year back in 2004-05, in Manipur the same was started only in the early part of this current year, that too only in Imphal east district.
Manipur is targeting to issue 1,69,251 smart cards under the NHIS as government is ready to extend the scheme in other districts too.
The scheme being implemented in the state will run with 90 percent central share of funds, only 10 percent will be the state share.
That is out of Rs 750 annual paramecium amount to be given to a BPL family beneficiary, the centre will bear 75% while 25% will be borne by the state.
New India Assurance Company Limited, Mumbai is the insurance provider of the scheme in Manipur.