Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government sanctioned an additional ₹250 crore for the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP). The state’s health insurance scheme covers an estimated 42 lakh people from the vulnerable sections of society. 

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Finance Minister KN Balagopal said in a statement that ₹4,618 crore has been allocated for the Karuna scheme so far under the second Pinarayi government.

“The annual premium per family is ₹1,050. The state government fully bears the premium for 18.02 lakh families, while for another 23.97 lakh families, it covers ₹418.80 of the premium, with the remaining amount contributed by the central government,” he said in the statement.

The scheme provides free medical treatment of up to ₹5 lakh per year for each family, benefiting 41.99 lakh poor and economically weak families.

Currently, the treatment under the scheme is available at 197 government hospitals, four central government hospitals, and 364 private hospitals across Kerala.

In addition to KASP, the state runs the Karunya Benevolent Fund (KBF) scheme, which provides one-time free treatment assistance of up to ₹2 lakh for families with an annual income below ₹3 lakh. For kidney-related diseases, treatment worth up to ₹3 lakh is available free of cost, according to the statement.