Kerala to merge existing health insurance, treatment assistance programmes with Oommen Chandy scheme

Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF government in Kerala will merge all existing government treatment programmes with the proposed Oommen Chandy Free Health Insurance Scheme promised by the front during the elections. The government plans to announce the scheme's launch as an Onam gift. The scheme offers a free insurance coverage of ₹25 lakh to all families in the state.

Following the UDF government’s proposed move, the Karunya Health Scheme (KASP), the Karunya Benevolent Fund (KBF) and related programmes will come under the Oommen Chandy scheme.

The implementation of the new scheme will be announced as part of the government's 100-day action plan, following study by a team comprising representatives from the Finance and Health departments of the comprehensive policy document.

As Chief Minister V D Satheesan had announced in the Assembly that people with high income need not be exempted from paying the premium, the government is likely to collect a specific premium amount from this category and make premium exemption applicable only for the BPL section and economically backward people.

Currently, the government is considering three aspects before announcing the scheme's launch.

First, whether schemes such as Medisep for state government employees and pensioners, and health insurance programmes implemented by public sector institutions that collect premiums from their employees, should be brought under the Oommen Chandy scheme.

Second, should the same coverage be applied to families having a single member and those having multiple members?

And finally, could Ayushman Bharat and other Central programmes be merged into the new scheme?

The Chief Minister said in the assembly on June 22 that private hospitals would also be partners of the programme. “The premium will be decided only while signing the agreements with the insurance firms. It need not be made free for those with high income,” he said.

Meanwhile, Health and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan said the guidelines for the Oommen Chandy scheme, as a prestigious government programme, were being prepared under the supervision of the Chief Minister.