As many as 1,51,157 people have been provided treatment free of cost by spending Rs 144 crore under the HIMCARE scheme in Himachal.
Till now, 5,21, 698 people of the state have registered themselves under the Himachal Health Care Scheme (HIMCARE) being implemented by the State Government to provide good health services to poor people, said an official spokesman.
He said that under Ayushman Bharat, families have been selected by the Government of India on the basis of Socio-Economic Census, 2011 and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). For providing the cashless treatment coverage on the analogy of Ayushman Bharat to the left out families, the Himachal Pradesh Government is implementing HIMCARE since January 1, 2019.
Under the scheme, cashless treatment coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per year per family is being provided on family floater basis.
In case of more than five members, the remaining members are being enrolled as a separate unit subject to the capping of five members for each such additional unit, the spokesman said.
This scheme is being implemented on a co-payment basis. Under this scheme, differential premium rates have been decided based on the categories, he said.
Giving details, the spokesman said that the State Government has spent Rs 7. 28 crore for providing free treatment to 8,987 beneficiaries of Bilaspur district, Rs 5.34 crore for 5,922 patients in district Chamba, Rs 9.21 crore for 14,554 people in Hamirpur.
Rs 34.95 crore for 35,430 people in Kangra, Rs 1.89 crore for 1,541 people in Kinnaur, Rs 8.48 crore for 12,382 people in Kullu. Rs 34 lakh for 391 people in Lahaul-Spiti, Rs 18.29 crore for 19,639 people in Mandi, Rs 19.86 crore for 13,266 people in Shimla, Rs 9.45 crore for 13,756 people in Sirmaur, Rs 10.50 crore for 13,433 persons in Solan, Rs 5.79 crore for 9,684 persons in Una while Rs 12.57 crore have been spent for free treatment of 2,172 people in PGIMER, Chandigarh under this scheme.
The hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat within the State are also empanelled for HIMCARE and are providing cashless treatment to the beneficiaries by making online entries through transaction management system.
The claims are being reimbursed through host to host payment system directly in the bank account of concerned hospital after checking the complete claim papers submitted by these institutions through online system, the spokesman added
He further said that a robust IT system has been developed for implementation of HIMCARE in the state. HIMCARE card holders can avail free treatment facility in 201 registered hospitals, out of which 64 are in the private sector.
HIMCARE scheme has proved a boon for the people who cannot afford their medical treatment due to poor financial condition and they are not deprived of treatment due to lack of funds, he said.