India's National Health Protection Scheme
Yesterday, at the Union Budget 2018 session the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke about the world's largest Government funded National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) for India. This mega health insurance scheme for the poor is said to boost the health sector in India. The NHPS will cost the Indian Government over Rs. 1 lakh crore. It is said NHPS will provide 100 million families with medical coverage up to Rs. 5 lakh per. This will be given for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
The existing health scheme Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) provides a cover of Rs. 30,000 for up to 5 members of a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family. Around 36 million of the 59 million BPL families across 15 states are enrolled in RSBY scheme. The allocation for RSBY increased to Rs. 2,000 crore for the Financial Year 2019 (FY 19.) Previously, for FY 18 the amount was Rs. 470.52 crore.
It is said NHPS is the fourth iteration of the RSBY. In the FY 2016 to 2017 RSBY was renamed as Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (RSSY) and for the FY 2017 to 2018 the Government renamed it to NHPS. The administration of these schemes also changed along with the names. The Ministry of Labour and Employment handled RSBY. When the name changed to RSSY, the administration was shifted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The amount of Rs. 5 lakh per family under NHPS is a massive hike on par with the existing Rs. 1 lakh. It is said this amount is around 17 times higher than the previous RSBY scheme. The NHPS is said to cover around 40% of India's population.
During the FY 2016 to 2017, the RSBY targeted 5.9 crore families but the Indian Government only managed to enrol 3.6 crore families. The Government's announcement of reaching up to 10 crore families sounds like a good joke.
The funds' allocation for RSBY was deteriorating over the last few years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. In FY 2012 to 2013 the amount was Rs. 1,001 crore and it reduced to Rs. 550 crore in FY 2014 to 2015. The funds' allocation was brought back to Rs. 1000 crore last year.
The existing health scheme Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) provides a cover of Rs. 30,000 for up to 5 members of a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family. Around 36 million of the 59 million BPL families across 15 states are enrolled in RSBY scheme. The allocation for RSBY increased to Rs. 2,000 crore for the Financial Year 2019 (FY 19.) Previously, for FY 18 the amount was Rs. 470.52 crore.
It is said NHPS is the fourth iteration of the RSBY. In the FY 2016 to 2017 RSBY was renamed as Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (RSSY) and for the FY 2017 to 2018 the Government renamed it to NHPS. The administration of these schemes also changed along with the names. The Ministry of Labour and Employment handled RSBY. When the name changed to RSSY, the administration was shifted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The amount of Rs. 5 lakh per family under NHPS is a massive hike on par with the existing Rs. 1 lakh. It is said this amount is around 17 times higher than the previous RSBY scheme. The NHPS is said to cover around 40% of India's population.
During the FY 2016 to 2017, the RSBY targeted 5.9 crore families but the Indian Government only managed to enrol 3.6 crore families. The Government's announcement of reaching up to 10 crore families sounds like a good joke.
The funds' allocation for RSBY was deteriorating over the last few years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. In FY 2012 to 2013 the amount was Rs. 1,001 crore and it reduced to Rs. 550 crore in FY 2014 to 2015. The funds' allocation was brought back to Rs. 1000 crore last year.
Comments
Post a Comment
If our works do grab your attention, do share it on google+, facebook or any that you feel fit.
Please restrain yourself from adding abusive or self-promoting comments, they will be removed without notice and you will be banned from commenting further on.