State govt to revise Medisep treatment packages, report likely in two weeks

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Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has decided to revise the treatment packages under Medisep, the health insurance scheme for government employees and pensioners.
The three-year contract with Oriental Insurance Company Limited will end in June 2025. The packages for the current scheme, which started three years ago, were prepared two years before that. The new packages are being introduced considering new treatment methods and the increase in hospital rates over the last five years.
Officials said that the report on revising the packages is expected to be submitted in two weeks. The government will examine this report, which is being prepared by a team led by doctors, and take a final decision on the premium and other details. Presently, the monthly premium is Rs 500.
However, officials said that the new packages would be implemented and the premium decided only after discussions with employees’ organisations. The government is also likely to change its decision to exclude private insurance companies from the scheme.
The number of Medisep beneficiaries, including employees, pensioners, family members, and dependents, is 30.82 lakh.
Allotment for KASP
Meanwhile, faced with dues amounting to Rs 1,300 crore, the state budget has allotted an additional Rs 21 crore for the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Project (KASP), 41.99 lakh families belonging to the socially and economically weaker sections of society. The allotment this year is Rs 700 crore, compared to Rs 679 crore last year.
After the government defaulted on the payments, several private hospitals empanelled with the scheme withdrew. The government hospitals also cut down the treatment facilities for KASP members.
The state government blamed the Centre for the crisis, pointing out that it had not brought about a proportional increase in the premium paid by it for the scheme. Of the premium of Rs 1,050 for a family, the Centre's share is Rs 418.80 for 23.97 lakh families. The state must bear the remaining premium of these families and the entire premium of the rest of the families. Repeated requests by the Kerala government to increase its allotment have been regularly rejected by the Centre.