BHUBANESWAR:Clearing air on the modalities for Biju Swasthya Kalyana Yojana (BSKY) that ensures healthcare aid up to Rs 5 lakh per family per annum and Rs 7 lakh for women, Odisha Government on Thursday said the treatment would be entirely funded by the State unlike the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme that is primarily an insurance model.
The BSKY, dubbed as a game changer scheme, will benefit an estimated 71 lakh families with a population of around 3.5 crore, including nearly 1.5 crore women. Beneficiaries earlier covered under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) will be eligible for BSKY.
While BKKY beneficiaries can use their cards to avail the benefits, new health cards will be issued for those are in RSBY list. Both the lists would be merged and there will be no fresh enumeration for BSKY. Even as the Centre was paying 60 per cent of premium of RSBY, the BKKY is Odisha’s own scheme for farmer families.
“The guidelines for BSKY will be same as Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF). The only difference is that the ceiling has been increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. So, there will be no problem in implementing the new scheme,” said a Government official.
The scheme aimed at extending universal healthcare will not only be applicable for public health facilities, beneficiaries can also get cashless treatment in the 30 empanelled private hospitals. The Government is likely to include more hospitals from outside the State to offer advanced care to patients.
Since the Government has planned to make it completely cashless, the beneficiaries will use their cards to avail the benefits. As many as 255 surgeries are covered under the scheme. Plans are afoot to make it more people friendly by tweaking wherever is required.
The official made it clear that Aadhaar number is not mandatory in the first year of the scheme, which is all set to be rolled out on August 15. As maximum treatment cost is spent by patients on primary and secondary healthcare, it is made available completely free of cost up to the district level hospitals.
“Since people spend a lot on healthcare and it is one of the major reasons for poverty, aiding healthcare is the best anti-poverty measure after a certain level of poverty reduction through development and livelihood initiatives. It will also help strengthen rural economy,” he added.
Annual budget estimate
Health Department has estimated that something between Rs 600 crore and Rs 800 crore will be spent annually under the scheme. “We had been spending close to Rs 250 crore under RSBY, BKKY, OSTF and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) per annun. With Ayushman Bharat we would have spent Rs 250 crore more. As the Central scheme did not cover all beneficiaries, we decided to have our own model. Total expenditure will depend on the patient load,” the official said.
Eligibility
All BPL families
Persons with annual family income not exceeding Rs 40,000 in rural areas and Rs 60,000 in urban areas
Farmers’ families not filing IT return
Families not having salaried members