Shillong, May 5: An enhanced version of the Megha Health Insurance Scheme was launched here today with the Meghalaya government entering into an agreement with New India Assurance Company Ltd.
The version two of the scheme, dubbed MHIS-II, was rolled out to provide a comprehensive and universal health insurance cover to the entire population of the state.
The agreement was signed today here between Megha Health Insurance Scheme chief executive officer M.R. Synrem and senior divisional manager, New India Assurance Company Ltd, L. Buam. Those present during the signing ceremony included chief minister Mukul Sangma and health minister A.L. Hek.
New India Assurance was selected as the insurer after a competitive bidding process where 10 leading health insurance companies of India submitted their bids.
MHIS-II is an initiative of the Meghalaya government and has been designed in convergence mode with the Centre's existing health insurance scheme, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
While the RSBY provides Rs 30,000 health insurance cover to only BPL families, MHIS offers an enhanced coverage of up to Rs 2 lakh to all the families of the state, in addition to providing a top-up for BPL families under RSBY.
Residents of Meghalaya will now be able to avail a comprehensive spectrum of health services, including super-specialty treatment, advanced diagnostics, outpatient services for pregnant women and children and long-term consultation and treatment services for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases on a "cashless and free of cost basis subject to limits".Continuing with the initiatives spearheaded by the earlier MHIS, MHIS-II has been designed to fully integrate with the existing public health system in the state.
According to an official document, the scheme will expand the number and quality of specialty and super-specialty hospitals available to the people of Meghalaya by requiring the empanelment of at least 14 super-specialty hospitals across major metropolitan cities in India with emphasis on National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH)-accredited hospitals.
During the launch, Synrem said MHIS-II would cover a broad variety of diseases, including high impact preventive and outpatient services to women and children, and also provide greater financial cover to families for expensive and long-term medical expenses.
On November 27, 2012, the state government had inked an agreement with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd for implementing the health insurance scheme to cover all residents of the state. The MHIS-I was designed to provide all households in the state with a financial cover of up to Rs 1,60,000 annually to cover in-patient services, irrespective of income levels.
