The Maharashtra Government has launched schemes to provide health insurance cover to all the 52 lakh people living in the state below poverty line (BPL) and is planning to launch insurance schemes for drivers and domestic workers in the state. The process has already begun in the seven districts of the state thus far and 83,000 BPL families already have been given the insurance cover . The state government has already reached an MoU with the state-run non-life insurer, New India Assurance Company for the seven districts. The scheme was part of a national scheme known as Rashtriya Swasthya Beema Yojana under which 75% of the total premium to be underwritten will be contributed by the government at the centre and the remaining 25% was to be shared by each state government.
There are 12 lakh people living under BPL in the seven districts as per the list prepared by the rural development department of the state. The seven districts include Yawatmal, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Thane and Amrawati. However, a BPL family comprising five members can only be covered under the scheme.
Speaking to FE, Nawab Malik, minister, labour department, Maharashtra, said that nearly 83,000 labours in the seven districts of the state have already been covered under the scheme thus far.
?We want to cover 10 lakh labours by March-end. The workers living in the remaining part of the state, which comprises 35 districts, would be covered by the end of March, 2010. The tender for the remaining part of the state in this connection has already been floated and the bid is likely to be opened later this month,? said Malik.
All the families were likely to be issued cashless smart card with biometric features by the insurance company. As per the facility to be provided under the scheme, any labour can getadmitted in either private or even government hospital. The maximum sum assured by the insurer under the scheme per BPL family has been capped at Rs 30,000, said Malik. The state government was also planning to bring drivers of vehicles being run within the state under insurance cover so that their families could get the benefit of insurance in case of driver?s death.