The number of people availing benefits of the chief minister’s health scheme has increased more than five times in six years.

The state health department received 766 applications in 2006 when it launched the Mukhyamantri Chikitsa Sahayta Yojana. In 2012, the department has so far received more than 4,000 applications and approved 2,707 claims.

The scheme is meant for people with an annual income less than Rs 1 lakh. According to the plan, a fixed amount is allocated to hospitals listed with Central Government Health Scheme and state-run health hubs from the Mukhyamantri Chikitsa Sahayta Kosh (corpus of the scheme) for treatment. The beneficiaries do not get the allocated money directly. The health department provides the amount to hospitals.

“Many people are showing interest in the scheme that helps people get various kinds of treatments,” said R.P. Ojha, additional secretary-cum-spokesperson of the health department. “As part of the scheme, a cancer patient gets Rs 40,000 for treatment in state hospitals. But those undergoing treatment in hospitals outside Bihar get Rs 60,000 each. For double valve replacement surgery in state hospitals and health hubs outside, a beneficiary gets Rs 1,30,000. For the treatment of brain tumour, a beneficiary gets Rs 15,000 in both cases,” he added.

Ojha admitted to non-utilisation of allocated funds and delay in treatment of many beneficiaries. “Many people fail to provide documents on time while submitting applications. We are allocating funds to hospitals so that treatment can be started at the earliest. We will advertise the scheme to make people more aware of it,” he added.