New Delhi: In a bid to provide insurance
cover to more people hailing from vulnerable sections,
Government plans to widen the ambit of the Rashtriya Swasthya
Bima Yojana.
The scheme, which was reviewed at the Union Cabinet
meeting on Thursday, has already been extended to few segments of
unorganised workers which include MNREGA beneficiaries, street
vendors, domestic workers, beedi workers and those working in
building and construction sites.
The scheme has been extended to a few segments of
unorganised workers. In future, it is likely to be expanded to
other segments of such workers," an official release said.
Sources said that during the review of the scheme, it was
pointed out that it has been a success story and has got wide
appreciation from organisations like the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) and World Bank.
The Scheme was launched on 1st October, 2007 as the
health insurance scheme for families living below the poverty
line. It was operationalised on April, 2008.
Under the scheme, beneficiaries are entitled to smart
card-based cashless health insurance cover of Rs.30,000 per
family per annum on a family floater basis.
The central government contributes 75 per cent of the
annual premium of the scheme while states` share is 25 per
cent.
In case of North-East region and Jammu and Kashmir,
Centre`s share in the premium contribution goes up to 90
per cent and the state has to provide a mere 10 per cent of
the total premium.
The beneficiary family has to pay only Rs 30 per annum
per family as registration and renewal fee. Administrative
cost is borne by the state governments.
PTI
