The Telangana government is preparing to expand the Aarogyasri scheme coverage and execute it as a Universal Health Scheme.
The government plans to expand the benefits of the scheme to all residents of Telangana irrespective of ration card or financial group and it also aspires to issue new health cards to the beneficiaries under a new initiative called Rajiv Aarogyasri Scheme. Like the private insurance companies, the government also wants to treat every family as a unit.
These new health cards will be provided with a unique identification number and connected to a digital health profile for every resident in Telangana.
The Health Department calculates that over 90 percent of the population, which includes more than 90 lakh white ration card holders and government employees will be covered under the expanded scheme, and to provide extensive coverage, plans are in progress to examine the enactment of the scheme for the remaining population.
The Aarogyasri scheme currently covers treatment for 1,670 diseases and it is also scheduled to include 100 additional diseases to extend the coverage. The treatment limit is set to increase twofold from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh under the scheme and a review is undergoing to rework the costs of the package.
The enactment process of this new scheme is anticipated to begin within the next 2-3 months. This scheme has made a notable effort in the direction of universal healthcare access in Telangana.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)