BHUBANESWAR: If things move in the right direction, Odisha government may include all organ transplantation in its flagship health insurance scheme Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).BSKY provides cashless treatment to the beneficiaries in the empanelled hospitals up to Rs 5 lakh per family annually and additional Rs 5 lakh for women members of the family after exhaustion of initial limit.
Though kidney, liver and bone marrow transplants have been included in the BSKY packages, transplantation of other organs are not covered under the scheme.At a recent meeting on the progress of State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), it has been decided to examine the costs involved in different transplants and evaluate how the procedures can be included in the health scheme.
“The Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has been asked to examine the costs for different transplants and propose to the CEO of State Health Assurance Society (SHAS) for necessary inclusion of the new packages along with the suggested rate,” said a health official, who attended the meeting. While the package cost of kidney transplantation has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, the balance amount after the coverage for kidney, liver and bone marrow transplants will be borne by the beneficiaries.
Since there is no fixed package for liver and bone marrow transplantation, beneficiaries will have to pay as per the package price of empanelled private hospitals concerned.It has also been decided to promote cadaveric organ transplant and give permission to more non-transplant organ retrieval centres to facilitate the procedure. SOTTO has been asked to take steps for exploring the feasibility. So far, 10 hospitals have been given permission for organ transplant and tissue banks.
“SOTTO will enhance the activities in a planned manner to increase the deceased organ transplant in the state. Besides, it will also explore the proposals from different hospitals for conducting the organ transplant and coordinate with the state nodal officer for the issue of registration,” the official said.