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Kohima, Oct. 14 (EMN): The Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CHIMS), a state-specific welfare scheme aimed at providing universal health coverage to the citizens of Nagaland, was launched at the State Banquet Hall in Kohima on Friday.
Launching the ambitious scheme, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio described the occasion as a ‘red letter day’.
“People of the state will have an assurance of better access to healthcare services than they had ever before,” he said.
“Many a time, such expenditure is not within the means of the family and as such the only way out was to resort to borrow from friends, relatives or in many cases from money lenders in order to pay. Returning this borrowed money remains an extreme burden. It is a known fact that many families are driven to poverty or suffer extreme hardship on account of this. I am sure that this scheme will prevent such hardships,” he added.
The CM informed that all the government hospitals in the state will be empanelled to provide in-patient treatment under the scheme.
The revenue earned from the insurance scheme can be used by the hospitals for improving health services delivery in their respective facilities. Simultaneously, the state government is also pursuing through various financing sources including National Health Mission, World Bank and JICA to continue improving hospital facilities in the state, it was informed.
Maintaining that the real test will be how effectively the scheme is implemented, he called upon the state health agencies and departments to dutifully attend to the beneficiaries.
The scheme is also an opportunity for the private hospitals in the state to treat the patients and get assured payments, Rio said, added that it is the first time they are getting an opportunity to get empanelled and treat patients not only from the general population but also from among government servants who have been going for treatment outside the state. He appealed to all hospitals to immediately enroll on the online portal so that they can provide services immediately.
He further appealed to the people to enroll themselves on the online enrolment portal which is open now; free assistance on enrollment can also be availed from across the state at designated locations for e-verification during the next fortnight.
Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom observed that the scheme would be instrumental in mitigating the risk of impoverishment resulting from hospitalisation expenses and to promote access to quality healthcare services and accelerate state’s progress towards universal health coverage.
There is a substantial section of the society who neither belongs to government employee’s family to avail Medical Reimbursement Scheme nor eligible for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) scheme. The government of the day is responsive to these concerns of the people and has come up with scheme to reduce their financial burden, knowing that medical expenditure is a leading cause of impoverishment, he said.
He expressed hope that the new scheme will be a stepping stone towards positive health and wellbeing, and a driver of economic prosperity for the state.
Chief Secretary J Alam said the affordable insurance-based healthcare was almost non-existent except for a small section of the working population and pensioners in the country but this scenario is changing now.
The CMHIS is a major step towards fulfilling the Nagaland Sustainable Development Goals Vision 2030 of ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages by providing equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services to the people of the state, he said.
The scheme covers up to three days of pre-hospitalisation and 15 days post-hospitalisation expenses such as diagnostics and medicines; all pre-existing conditions from day one, he said, adding that treatment can be sought at any public or private hospital in India empanelled under the scheme.
People can access free cashless treatment in all AB PM-JAY hospitals across the country, while regular state government employees, pensioners and legislators can access the service in about 1,500 CGHS empanelled hospitals, he further informed.
The state government has signed an agreement with the Oriental Insurance Company Limited as the insurance partner. As of now, two district hospitals in Mon and Longleng, and three private hospitals -- Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research in Dimapur, Olive Christian Hospital and Research Centre in Dimapur, and Oking Hospital in Kohima – have been empanelled with the scheme and more are expected to join.
Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority, Government of India, Dr. RS Sharma, also addressed the gathering virtually.
Addressing a press conference after the launch, Minister of Planning and Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs, Neiba Kronu, said the scheme been made available for all citizens, is the first in the country. Other states have implemented similar schemes but they are fragmented and confined to a specific group of people, he added.
Additional Chief Secretary and Finance Commissioner, Sentiyanger Imchen, informed that INR 16 crore has been released for the scheme on Friday, while a total of INR 69 has been arranged for first year cover.
On deduction of government employees’ medical allowance (MA) for the CMHIS, he clarified the scheme is a “conscious” policy decision. Out of the medical allowance, half of it (total) will be converted into an insurance scheme. It will not cost the government any extra money.
‘Every year, the state government is spending about INR 25 crore to INR 30 crore for medical reimbursement to the government employees. Therefore, it decided to convert it into universal health coverage, through which it can cover general population which is not covered by any other schemes like AB PM-JAY, pensioners, and government servants,’ he informed, adding that the premium paid to the insurance is INR 1199 for the INR 5 lakh coverage and INR 3328 for the 20 lakh.
As for the empanelment, he said it is voluntary and called upon all private hospitals to apply for it.
Principal Secretary to the chief minister, Amardeep Singh Bhatia informed that the insurance period is for one year but will continue as long as the scheme exists.
On claims that some people are charging for the registration forms, the officials clarified no one should pay or charge money for forms as it is free.