Bhubaneswar: In a major decision to woo rural middle class voters, ahead of Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today launched the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) Nabin Card here.
All rural families of Odisha (except regular government employees and income tax payees), who are presently not covered under BSKY, will be eligible to receive the BSKY Nabin Card, Patnaik said.
This will entitle them to cashless care of Rs 5 lakh per annum (upto 10 lakh for women members of the family), in empanelled private hospitals both inside and outside the state, for identified critical illnesses, he said.
Stating ‘Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha’ (Healthy Odisha, Happy Odisha) has been the driving force behind all interventions in the health sector in Odisha, the Chief Minister said, “It has been my dream to provide universal health coverage to the people of Odisha, where healthcare is a right; accessible and affordable by all.”
To take this vision forward, the BSKY was launched five years ago bringing about a revolution in providing health assurance to the people of Odisha.
In the first phase of BSKY, all services in public health facilities were made free of cost for all persons, irrespective of income or residence. In the second phase, BSKY provides cashless health care in private health facilities for all ration card holders, he stated.
Under BSKY, every month, over 45 lakh persons receive free health care at public health facilities in the State, while 1.3 lakh persons receive cashless care. This amounts to Rs 260 crore each month in empanelled private hospitals.
In the past five years, BSKY has provided nearly 21 lakh patients with cashless healthcare of about Rs 4,500 crore, in private hospitals alone, the Chief Minister pointed out.
It has thus become a unique model for universal health coverage, leveraging the strengths of both the public and private sectors to provide comprehensive health assurance to the people of Odisha, he added.
Launching the BSKY Nabin Card, Shri Patnaik said, “We are now launching the third phase of BSKY, where all left out families of rural areas of our state will be assured of cashless care in private hospitals, for critical ailments.”
With this third phase of expansion, it is estimated that over 1.10 crore families, covering nearly 90% of the population of the state, will be provided health assurance under BSKY.
This will ensure that no family in Odisha is left vulnerable due to lack of financial resources to meet high expenditure for critical illnesses; thus fulfilling the promise of universal health coverage for the people of Odisha, he added.