MALKANGIRI/BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched the distribution of smart health cards under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana at Malkangiri.
Sukri Dhangda Majhi from the Bonda community was the first recipient of the smart health card. People can avail quality healthcare services in 200 hospital chains of the country including Odisha with this card.
Launching the initiative, the Chief Minister said that about 3.5 crore people from 96 lakh families in the state will be benefited from this initiative. From Malkangiri alone, 1.55 lakh families will be benefited. While families can avail treatment costs up to Rs 5 lakh per annum, for women members of the family, it is up to Rs 10 lakh. A person can simply go to a hospital only with the card and avail all the treatments without any hassle, he added.
The Chief Minister said the initiative will bring a paradigm shift in the system of healthcare services in India, where a patient will get the best healthcare without any expense. The Chief Minister had also started the one rupee rice scheme from Malkangiri, which is one of the remotest districts of Odisha.
Describing the initiative as historic, the Chief Minister said that health is important for everyone and linked with the finances of the family. “When anyone from the family is ill, there is stress and tension over how to organise the money required for treatment. Many sell their land, some other borrow or others stop education of their children,” he said, adding the smart health card will now take care of the treatment without putting any burden on the family members.
Stating that the state government will now spend money for the treatment, the Chief Minister said that people can save this money and spend it for education of their children or other purposes. The Chief Minister said that healthcare is imparted in all government-run hospitals free of cost. He said that all facilities including dialysis, chemotherapy and different tests are now available in government hospitals.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Naba Kishore Das, Minister of State for Sports Tusharkanti Behera and Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Majhi also addressed the function.