Alongla Aier giving presentation on CMHIS at DIPR Citadel,
Kohima, on Monday. (EM image)
KOHIMA — An awareness and enrolment camp for
the Chief Minister's Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS) for working journalists
accredited by the Government of Nagaland was held on Monday at the DIPR
Citadel, Kohima.
Currently, a total of 43 journalists are accredited by the
Government of Nagaland.
The inclusion of working journalists accredited by the state
government under the CMHIS was notified by the government in March 2024.
A separate database for journalists under the scheme was
created to ensure that no accredited working journalist, whether indigenous or
non-indigenous, would be left out of the coverage.
The camp was conducted by the Nagaland Health Protection
Society (NHPS), an entity under the Department of Health and Family Welfare,
which is tasked with administering public health protection schemes in the
state.
On the occasion, NHPS operations manager Alongla Aier
delivered a detailed presentation on the CMHIS coverage and how accredited
journalists would benefit from the scheme.
The accredited journalists come under the general category
(INR 5 lakh) and are an "approved" group by the state government.
Hence, all accredited journalists, irrespective of being indigenous or
non-indigenous, are entitled to register for the health scheme, she said.
Noting that there is major confusion among the people, she
clarified that the scheme for the general category does not cover outpatient
services and standalone investigations such as tests without hospitalisation.
The health scheme covers only general wards in hospitals and
not private wards for the general category beneficiaries. However, for
government employees and pensioners, access to private wards in hospitals is
provided, depending on the pay structure, she said.
She further informed that there are about 30,000 empaneled
hospitals across the state and the country.
NHPS BIS consultant Neitshope Sekhamo and his team assisted
journalists in registering and generating their beneficiary cards.
Kohima Press Club (KPC) president Alice Yhoshü lauded the
state government for acknowledging the role of the press and initiating this
step of inclusion.
She further acknowledged the Directorate of Information and
Public Relations (DIPR) and the NHPS for their efforts in facilitating the camp
for accredited journalists, while also making special mention of Additional
Chief Secretary and Finance Commissioner Sentiyanger Imchen, who has been
instrumental in pushing for the inclusion of accredited working journalists
under the health insurance scheme.
The awareness and enrolment camp for accredited journalists
held on Monday was the first such event for Kohima-based journalists. A similar
camp will be held in Dimapur on Tuesday for Dimapur-based accredited
journalists.
