BENGALURU: Arogya Bhagya, the state's flagship health scheme to provide universal health care to the state's population irrespective of the individual's BPL or APL status will be launched on February 24, said Karnataka health minister Ramesh Kumar here on Friday at a press conference.
It was supposed to be rolled out on November 1, 2017, on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava. But the deadline was missed because the Finance department did not approve it in time.
The scheme is expected to benefit 1.3 crore families and will cost Rs. 869.4 crore to the state exchequer as it involves integrating all existing schemes.
Category A, comprising about 1.05 crore households, would
include farmers, teachers of aided schools, Anganwadi workers,
scheduled castes/scheduled tribes, sanitation workers, unorganized workers, public servants and accredited media professionals.
They won't have to make any contributions towards the scheme, which provides treatment worth up to Rs. 1.5 lakh for free in government and private hospitals.
Around 30 lakh households who do not come under the above categories would be enrolled in the scheme when they apply online with their Aadhaar details. Those in rural areas would need to contribute Rs. 300 per person and those in urban areas, Rs 700.
Seven existing schemes — Vajpayee Arogyasri, Yashaswini, Jyothi Sanjeevini, Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish scheme, Janani Shishu
Suraksha Karyakram, Rajiv Arogya Bhagya, and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) — are being merged under UHC.
"Arogya Bhagya prevents overlapping of health schemes and duplication.
Assurance is better than insurance," Kumar said.
"We have not received funds that were announced by the union government last year. They should try to control the private sector. NITI Aayog is trying to privatize the government sector. They have a moral obligation to strengthen public health systems," he added.