Page 17 - Insurance Times September 2015 SAMPLE
P. 17
Health Insurance
New health plan to cover A universal farm and health insurance for masses
citizens above 60
The Centre is gearing up to launch two The scheme is basically targeted at
The government is finalizing a new more Mass Social Security Schemes to providing financial protection to farm-
health insur- make healthcare affordable and tackle ers; thereby ensuring food security,
ance scheme distress in the farming sector across crop diversification and enhancing the
for the senior the country. growth and competitiveness of agricul-
citizens, who ture sector besides protecting farmers
are unable to The government is planning to come from financial risks.
up with a universal health scheme and
get a suitable health insurance an exclusive all-in-one insurance prod- "At present, the sum insured under a
cover. The new scheme has been uct for the farming community as part typical crop insurance scheme is the
launched by Prime Minister of its ongoing efforts to bring people cost of inputs or the loan taken by the
Narendra Modi on August 15. under the social security net. farmer. The claim is calculated by ap-
plying the shortfall in yield ratio to the
The new health plan would provide Against the back-
a cover of Rs.1 lakh annually for sec- ground of rising inci- sum insured. The gov-
ondary and tertiary treatment. Se- dents of farmers' sui- ernment now seems to
nior citizens would be expected to cides in the country, be thinking in terms of
subscribe individually for the scheme, the government's pro- covering farmer's in-
but the government would subsidize posal for an exclusive come loss", said former
the premium for those below pov- all-in-on insurance IRDAI Member K. K.
erty line by up to 90 percent through product for the farming Srinivasan. It has been
cash transfer to their bank accounts. community is keenly awaited. The revealed that less than 20 percent of
product, which will be called Unified the total farming population in the
"The scheme would involve annual Package Insurance Scheme (Bhartiya country has crop insurance, thereby
cover renewable from year to year Krishi Bima Yojana), would combine exposing a vast majority of the farm-
and the treatments would be cash- nine features with mandatory crop in- ers to vagaries of weather.
less", said a note prepared by the surance. However, the farmers have to
Department of Financial Services. choose at least four other features to The draft paper on the Universal
avail subsidy under crop insurance sec- Health Insurance Scheme says that
The insurance cover to BPL senior tion. there will be two kinds of covers - sum
citizens would be above Rs. 30,000 assured of Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh; for
health insurance cover provided According to the draft, the proposed which a customer may have to pay a
through the Rashtriya Swasthya policy incorporates various products premium of Rs 700 and Rs 1,300 respec-
Bima Yojana. like crop insurance, health cover, per- tively. The policy covers cashless hos-
sonal accident insurance, live stock/ pitalization for diseases contracted, or
The Finance Ministry is also consid- cattle insurance, insurance cover for injury sustained by the insured per-
ering the option for providing Rs.1 agriculture implements like tractors sons. Pre-existing diseases will be in-
lakh cover annually on a family and pump sets, student safety and life cluded after a waiting period of 24
floater basis to the entire family that insurance etc. months.
would include senior citizens.
The Insurance Times, September 2015 13
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