NEW DELHI – India on Sunday launched the world’s biggest health insurancescheme which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said would cover some 500 millionpoor people.
The programme, dubbed “Modicare”, promises health cover worth 500,000rupees ($6,900) to every poor family to treat serious ailments.
The scheme is expected to cost the central and 29 state governments $1.6billion per year in total. Funding will be increased gradually according todemand.
Modi handed medical cards out at the launch in Ranchi, capital of theeastern state of Jharkhand, calling it a historic day for India.
He called the scheme “a big step towards providing good quality andaccessible healthcare to the poor of India. Over 100 million families willbenefit.”
India’s overburdened public health system is plagued by a shortage ofhospitals and doctors and most people use private clinics and hospitals ifthey can afford to.
But a private consultation can cost 1,000 rupees ($15), a huge sum formillions living on less than $2 a day.
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More than 60 percent of the average family’s spending goes on medicines andhealthcare, the government estimates.
Experts have praised the latest programme but say it should have includedprimary day-to-day healthcare instead of just secondary and tertiary carefor more serious and long term treatment.
“Modicare does not extend to primary healthcare, which, we believe, is theweakest link in the provision of public health in India,” Rajiv Lall andVivek Dehejia of the IDFC Institute think-tank said in a column for theMint newspaper.
“The crucial point is that poorly delivered primary care inevitablyincreases the burden on health and finance at the secondary and tertiarylevels down the line,” they said. – APP/AFP
