Mahatma Phule to replace Rajiv Gandhi in health scheme

State’s mega health insurance scheme Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana will be re-christened after 19th century social reformer Mahatma Phule and instead of for just 900 ailments, it will now offer insurance for 1,100 conditions and procedures, heart transplants, liver and kidney transplant, pelvic bone surgery and knee replacement surgery included.

Additionally, the new scheme will provide medical help free of cost to farmers of the 14 drought-hit districts.

According to the director of National Health Mission, Dr Pradeep Vyas, “In our revamped scheme, we have included major procedures such as heart, liver and kidney transplant. Knee replacement surgery, brain and spine surgery, and pelvic bone surgery will also be covered.”

“We have also included ailments related to haematology, neurology and oncology, including 30 complicated procedures. It will take eight to 10 days for the new features to be implemented and there are more in the pipeline,” said Dr Vyas.

“The insurance cover under this scheme ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. While we have increased the number of medical procedures covered under the scheme from the current 900 to 1,100, we have done away with over 110 procedures for which no patients had registered in the past few years. With this, we have increased the scope of the scheme to include procedures such as kidney transplant, orthopaedic implants and ontological, paediatric and geriatric treatments, while ensuring better and faster services which would be available at many more hospitals,” said health minister Deepak Sawant.

The range of the scheme has been increased to include 2.26 crore below-poverty-line and above-poverty-line families, students staying in government hostels, residents of poor and old age homes, farmers from 14 suicide-prone districts and working journalists. The expense limit for treatment will be set at Rs 30,000.