The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday said that it will cover all 22 districts of the state under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) so that poor families can avail the benefits of the Union government's flagship scheme."With the implementation of the scheme in the remaining districts, the BPL (below poverty line) families and senior citizens would also be able to avail the benefit of health insurance scheme," said State Health and Medical Education Minister Bali Bhagat at a meeting convened to review the implementation of the scheme., Noting that the scheme was initially launched by the central government in including Jammu and Srinagar districts in December 2011 on a pilot basis, he said that the scheme was subsequently extended to ten more districts, five each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions."Later, the Government of India accorded approval for implementation of the scheme in all 22 districts of the State," he added.The main objective of the scheme is to provide protection to the BPL families from the financial liabilities arising out of health ailments that involve hospitalization and other expenses.
Under the Yojana, the BPL families comprising five members will be entitled to cashless hospitalization upto Rs 30,000 per family per financial year.For senior citizens of these families, an additional coverage of Rs 30,000 per senior citizen in the eligible family under Senior Citizens Health Insurance Scheme will also be available.The Minister directed the Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education to take immediate measures for speedy implementation of this important scheme to give succor to the poor families.He also called for arranging 10 per cent share of the state government for the premium amount as rest of 90 per cent share will be borne by the central government.This scheme would provide free of cost healthcare benefits in any public or private hospital across the country thus providing direct cash to the beneficiaries. Under the scheme, the Smart Card based on biometric technology system will be issued to the family to avoid any chance of duplication of service.