Rs 10 lakh health cover rollout starts from Tarn Taran, Barnala today

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced that his government’s ambitious universal health insurance scheme would be rolled out from Tuesday. Under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana, a family would be able to get cashless treatment for 2,000 ailments for a maximum of Rs 10 lakh.

The scheme is being rolled out in Barnala and poll-bound Tarn Taran district. A bypoll in Tarn Taran constituency is due anytime now. The poll has been necessitated because of the demise of sitting AAP MLA Dr Kashmir Singh. With this poll being considered a litmus test for the ruling AAP, the CM has decided to roll out the registration process for the free healthcare scheme here.

Interacting with the media, Mann said the registration for the scheme would begin in Barnala and Tarn Taran from Tuesday. “This is a pilot project and the registration will be completed in 10-12 days. As many as 128 camps will be held in each district for the purpose,” he said.

The CM said the people in these districts could apply for the Chief Minister’s Health Card. They would have to bring only their Aadhaar cards, Voter IDs and passport-size photographs to the camp organised for the purpose. Mann said government employees, ASHA workers, and anganwari workers would also be included in the scheme, enabling cashless treatment at all government and empanelled private hospitals.

He said 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics had been opened in the state over the past three years to impart quality health services to the people and the number of these clinics would soon cross 1,000.

He said the availability of medicines at government hospitals had increased from 30 per cent to nearly 100 per cent. The number of people benefiting from primary government health services had gone up from 34 lakh to 1.08 crore. Mann said it was a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that Punjab would be the first state in the country to offer free universal health insurance up to Rs 10 lakh.

Slamming the SGPC for denying land at Mastuana Sahib for a medical college, Mann said the Sikh body was merely a puppet in the hands of the Badal family and all its actions were dictated by them.