The Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram has proposed to redesign Universal Health Insurance Scheme and make it exclusive for persons and families below the poverty line (BPL). The revised premium would be Rs. 165 for individuals, Rs. 248 for a family of five and Rs 330 for a family of seven, without any reduction in benefits. To offset the reduction in premium, he proposed to enhance the premium subsidy from Rs. 100 at present to Rs. 200 for an individual, Rs. 300 for a family of five and Rs. 400 for a family of seven. The cost to the exchequer will be Rs. 40 crores a year. The number of people insured will rise to about 10 lakhs.
The Finance Minister also proposed to introduce a new Group Health Insurance Scheme through public sector non-life insurance companies. The insured will be members of Self-Help Groups and other Credit Linked Groups (CLGs) who avail of loans from banks or cooperative institutions. Under the scheme, the premium will be Rs. 120 per person and the insurance cover would be for a sum of Rs. 10,000.
(Release ID :2367)