Nationwide healthcare scheme takes flight in Nagaland too

EM Bureau
Dimapur/Mokokchung/Wokha Sep. 23: Recognising the importance of increasing access by all in critical health services for achieving universal health coverage, the department of Health and Family Welfare launched the Ayushman Bharat, national health protection mission along with the rest of the country on September 23 at the District Hospital, Dimapur.

The scheme seeks to improve access to quality healthcare and reduce expenditure on hospitalisation thereby protecting beneficiary families belonging to poor and vulnerable sections from improvisation due to health related expenses. The ambitious scheme, renamed the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan aims to provide coverage of INR 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 cr. poor families across the country.

The minister of Public Health Engineering (PHE), Jacob Zhimomi launched the scheme in Dimapur. “Once a person is a qualified member, is registered (with the scheme), he or she can get the benefit anywhere in India,” Zhimomi said.

“You will get your data once you are entered into the system and the benefit of availing the medical examination will be done once you are entered into the scheme,” Zhimomi said.

The minister further informed that under this scheme, the beneficiaries could avail the benefits from any government hospital or private hospitals that have a tie up with the state government.

Complimenting the district administration and chief medical officer, Zhimomi stressed that the programme needs to reach the grassroots level whereby sensitising the rural public and making them aware of such schemes.

“I request the CMO and district administration to come together and have the seminars across the districts especially in the sub divisions,” he suggested adding that it would turn out to be a redundant exercise if not made use of.

“If we lose interest we are at loss…we need to justify our position and all work together for the benefit of our people,” the minister concluded.

The scheme is said to include about 1500 health packages comprising treatments for almost all secondary and tertiary ailments. It will also include pre and post hospitalisation as well as covers all pre-existing conditions from beginning of the policy.

The benefit is also deemed as cashless and paperless and can be availed from any of the empanelled public or private hospitals while beneficiary family unit under the scheme will comprise all members of that family.

Any addition in the family will be allowed only in case of marriage or birth and adoption and a total of 2.33 lakh ‘vulnerable families’ in the state are eligible for the scheme.

In Mokokchung, the deputy commissioner, Sachin Jaiswal launched the scheme at Dr. Imkongliba District Memorial Hospital. “It is an accepted fact that, Nagas as a way of life, they hardly have any saving or insurance, therefore when misfortune strike they have to rely on loan from private sector with huge interest rate,” he lamented and added, “it is a bitter truth but we have to accept it and try to change this mentality.”

Jaiswal advised the people to open medical insurance and other related insurance policies to secure the future. He also asserted that the newly launched scheme was a ‘very transparent scheme’ and beneficial to the downtrodden.

He also requested the chief medical officer of the district to ‘strengthen the sensitisation mechanism’ for wider coverage in the district.

Dr. Kibangkumba, the deputy chief medical officer, Mokokchung said that the scheme will subsume the two on-going centrally sponsored schemes viz. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme.

He also informed that families featuring in the Socio-Economic & Caste Census (SECC) 2011 database prepared by Rural Development and Urban Development shall be considered eligible for benefits in the scheme while RSBY beneficiary families who are not included in SECC database will be automatically covered under the scheme.

He further informed that for the cashless benefits under the scheme 43 Government hospitals have been empanelled while eight private hospitals are in the process of being empanelled.

For Mokokchung, IMDH, Impur Christian Hospital, Woodland Nursing Home and four community health centres in Mangkolemba, Changtongya and Tuli have been empanelled while 14 Primary Health Centre in rural sector and one in urban sector will be empanelled soon.

In Wokha it was launched at the deputy commissioner’s (DC) conference hall. The DC of Wokha and chairman of the district’s health society, Dr. Manazir Jeelani Samoon while launching the programme, said it was one of the largest healthcare system in the country and many poor patients will be benefit from the scheme.

The chief medical officer of Wokha, Dr. Robin Lotha talked about the benefit of the mission, informing about the empanelled hospitals in the district and that beneficiaries can avail opportunity from district hospital, community health centres at Sanis and Bhandari and Mhondamo Memorial Hospital.

Later the deputy commissioner distributed golden records (e-card) to the beneficiaries.