Goa: All Goan families to have Medical Insurance

Panaji: From August 15, every long-term residing family in Goa will be medically insured for up to Rs.2.5 lakh and above, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on.

He made the announcement as the cabinet formally approved the Deen Dayal Swastha Yojana for universal healthcare insurance.

Parsekar told reporters that the central government-run United India Insurance had been chosen for five years to provide universal healthcare for the nearly 3.5 lakh families in the state, whose members have been residing in Goa for a minimum of five years.

"Under the scheme, a family of three will get a medical cover of Rs.2.5 lakh and a family of four and above will get cover of Rs.4 lakh for one year. They can avail treatment up to the amount in any government hospital or empanneled private hospitals in and out of the state," Parsekar said.

The chief minister also said the government would pay a premium of Rs.3,206 per family every year to the insuring company.

The medical cover amount would be loaded in a prepaid card, Parsekar said. This would be swiped at the government hospital or empallened private hospital and the amount spent on the health care debited.

Parsekar said 447 interventions and procedures would be covered under the medical insurance scheme while up to 276 procedures were covered only in government hospitals.

"We have not allotted all procedures to private hospitals because government hospitals need to run too," Parsekar said.