Himachal Govt spending under Himcare rose five times in 2 years to Rs 464 crore

Subhash Rajta

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Tribune news Service

Shimla, August 19

The expenditure on the Himcare scheme, which offers cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh per year to a family in empanelled hospitals, has jumped nearly five times in the past two years. In 2021-22, the state government spent Rs 97 crore on the scheme when 5.73 lakh families were covered.

In 2023-24, the expenditure skyrocketed to Rs 464 crore with 8.53 lakh families covered under the scheme. Overall, Rs 1,100 crore has been spent on the scheme in six years — out of which nearly Rs 750 crore was spent in the past two financial years.

Govt’s responsibility

The scheme is not a liability but the responsibility of the government. The annual expense of ~500 crore on the scheme that’s helping the poor to get treatment isn’t a big deal for the state. Rajiv Saizal, former Health minister

Besides the rise in the number of the beneficiaries, two key decisions taken in April 2022 are being touted as the major reasons for the spurt in the expenditure. The then BJP government had decided to make Himcare cards round the year, instead of only during the January 1 to March 31 window.

The other decision taken was about the payment of the premium once for three years instead of every year. “Until 2021-22, the annual expenditure on the scheme remained less than Rs 100 crore. For instance, the total liability in 2021-22 was Rs 97 crore. While Rs 18 crore came in the form of premium, the government paid the remaining Rs 70 crore. But the expenditure went up considerably after 2021-22,” said an official.

According to the administrators of various hospitals, the decision to make Himcare cards round the year led to a situation where a lot of people made cards only when they were to be hospitalised, thus adding to the financial burden under the scheme. Besides, the decision to extend the card period to three years without any change in the premium straightway reduced the earning to one-third.

In 2018-19, when the scheme was started, Rs 12 crore was collected through the annual premium from 1.21 lakh families. In 2023-24, when the number of enrolled families rose to 8.5 lakh, only Rs 13 crore was collected as premium. Despite about a seven-time increase in the number of beneficiaries, the premium amount collected is roughly the same as was in 2018-19 when the scheme had started.

Rajiv Saizal, the then Health Minister, said that these decisions could be debated but the government should refrain from curtailing the scheme benefits. “The scheme is not a liability but the responsibility of the government. The annual expense of Rs 500 crore on the scheme that’s helping the poor to get treatment isn’t a big deal for the state,” he added. He refuted the claims that the two decisions hampered the functioning of the scheme.

BJP govt’s decisions ‘to blame’

• Overall, ~1,100 crore has been spent on the scheme in six years — out of which nearly ~750 crore was spent in the past two financial years
• Two key decisions taken by the previous BJP government in April 2022 are being touted as the major reasons for the spurt in the expenditure under the Himcare scheme
• The previous BJP government had decided to make Himcare cards round the year, instead of only during the January 1 to March 31 window
• The other decision taken was about the payment of the premium once for three years instead of every year