Page 16 - The Insurance Times November 2024

Govt sources said the National Health ing the seniors, especially those requir- Centre for Ageing, told TOI that con-
Authority, which is the implementing ing hospitalisation, and try to develop ditions such as Alzheimer's and demen-
agency for AB-PMJAY, is working to- packages so that they can get timely tia are fairly common among the eld-
wards adding more packages that ex- treatment," a source in the health erly and they are also linked to increase
clusively tend to geriatric care or old- ministry said. risk of infections necessitating
age related ailments as the number of The expansion of AB-PMJAY to include hospitalisation. "Acute conditions af-
such beneficiaries is likely to go up sig- senior citizens will potentially benefit fecting the elderly include heart fail-
nificantly, with the govt expanding the around six crore individuals across 4.5 ure, fractures, and cancer among oth-
scheme to include senior citizens, aged crore families. Stroke, heart failure, ers," he said.
70 and above, irrespective of their in- cancer, Alzheimer's and dementia are Dr Vinay Aggarwal, chairman of the
come group. some of the common health ailments action committee of Indian Medical
"A committee headed by medical ex- affecting the elderly. The health min- Association, said, "We often come
perts reviews health packages under istry official said treatment of these across elderly people suffering from
AB-PMJAY regularly. This is a special ailments and complications thereof are serious illness or comorbidities who
case though, as focus is one large sub- likely to be addressed in special pack- have no support. There are cases in
group that has been included in the ages being planned for the elderly. which even their children are reluctant
scheme. The committee will work to- Dr Prasun Chatterjee, additional medi- or not available to support them finan-
wards identifying health issues affect- cal superintendent at the National cially for treatment. The govt scheme
can certainly help them tide over the
crisis, if any," he said. He added that
ESIC Benefits to Expand to All Districts Nationwide private health insurance is expensive
and often reluctant to on-board senior
The Union Labour Ministry is working with States/UTs towards expanding citizens.
services and benefits of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)
to all districts in the country, Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said. AB PM-JAY is the world's largest publicly
funded health assurance scheme which
He also said that ESIC/ESIS beneficiaries will have access to quality medical was launched in 2018 to provide an
facilities in more than 30,000 hospitals empanelled under the Ayushman
annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per
Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
family for secondary and tertiary care
Chairing a regional meeting on labour reforms and employment with 5 west- hospitalisation to 55 crore individuals of
ern States/Union Territories (UTs) (Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Dadra & 12.3 crore poor and vulnerable families.
Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep), Mandaviya said that
the Centre is committed to enhancing collaboration with States/UTs for Experts Warn of Major
labour reforms, quality employment generation, labour welfare and social Impact from Star Health
protection for all workers. These fire state/union territories are Maharashtra,
Goa, Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep. Data Breach
This meeting, held in Rajkot, Gujarat, was the third in a series of six re- The data breach of Star Health and
gional meetings being organised by the Ministry of Labour & Employment Allied Insurance is a "huge problem" if
to discuss key labour and employment issues. Mandaviya highlighted that sensitive information of about 31 mil-
planning is under way to converge ESIC and AB-PMJAY. lion customers, reportedly amounting
to 7.24 terabytes, is offered for sale,
"This policy will eliminate distinctions with respect to access to services of-
industry experts have warned, saying
fered by Government, public sector and private hospitals, allowing benefi-
that the gravity of the issue may be
ciaries to receive treatment in any empanelled hospital," he added. even more severe than it looks.
Mandaviya said that the Centre is committed to providing accessible social In what may be one of the biggest
protection coverage to workers in both organised and unorganised sectors. online data breaches in India so far,
He emphasised the need for an coordination between the Centre, States, sensitive information of about 31 mil-
and UTs to harness Information Technology (IT), including Artificial Intelli- lion customers of India's largest
gence (AI), in a bid to improve beneficiaries' access to quality services. He standalone health insurer was report-
Mandaviya also said ESIC's Dhanwantari portal will be in line with global edly leaked through chatbots on the
standards. messaging platform Telegram.

14 November 2024 The Insurance Times