Tura, June 19: Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma today launched the second phase of the Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme here.

The scheme, started in 2012 in convergence with the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, has provided cover to over 40,000 patients so far. Terming it as the "best innovative health insurance scheme", he said, "We intend to extend the scheme benefit to every citizen."

He said they were thinking about providing the scheme to state government employees as well.

"The reimbursement process for health benefit of government employees is lengthy. They have to run from pillar to post for this purpose. Hence, we are committed to inclusive enrolment in the scheme," Mukul said.

He said the ceiling for government employees has to be worked out before it is formally announced.

"We will create a separate bracket for government employees," he added.

He asked the health department and the nodal agency to create awareness about the scheme in different weekly markets.

"There are some rumours about the scheme and we have to allay all fears and apprehension," Mukul said.

Stating the scheme applies to treatment in private hospitals, he said, "We look forward to private investors setting up super-speciality hospitals in the state. The scheme also includes components for motivating medical professionals."

Pointing out the shortage of medical professionals, the chief minister said the state government has urged the Centre to increase seats for Meghalaya candidates at the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Medical Science (NEIGRIMS) in Shillong.

Two new medical colleges and four nursing institutes are coming up in the state.

The insurance scheme would provide cover for a broad range of diseases. It aims at providing financial aid at the time of hospitalisation and reduces out-of-pocket expenses.

The second phase is expected to cover eight lakh families while the first phase covered four lakh families.

Beneficiaries are entitled to Rs 2-lakh coverage at the time of hospitalisation on a floater basis and it is extendable up to five members of a family, where each household has to pay Rs 30 annually.

At least 11 private hospitals in Meghalaya and 13 outside the state have been empanelled where cardholders can admit themselves for medication, including all government hospitals. Three hospitals in Assam, two each in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and one each in Karnataka and Haryana have been included under the scheme.

The government has signed an agreement with the New India Assurance Company Ltd for the second phase while the first phase was implemented with ICICI Lombard.