MALKANGIRI/BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday, August 20, 2021, launched distribution of smart health cards under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana at Malkangiri. Sukri Dhangda Majhi from the Bonda community was the first recipient of the smart health card. Using this card, beneficiaries can avail quality healthcare services in 200 hospital chains of the country including Odisha.
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 upto Rs 5 lakh per annum, for women members of the family, it is up to Rs 10 lakh. A person may go to a hospital only with the card and avail all the treatments without any hassle, he said.
The Chief Minister said the initiative will bring a paradigm shift in the healthcare services in India, where a patient will get the best healthcare without any expense. 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 on how to arrange money required for treatment. Many sell their land, some others borrow or some stop educating 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 their money and spend it for education of their children or other works in the family. The Chief Minister said that health care 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. The Chief Minister had previously launched the one rupee rice scheme from Malkangiri, which is one of the remotest districts of Odisha.