New Insurance Scheme in Vellore on January 21

VELLORE: The chief minister’s Comprehensive Medical Insurance scheme will be formally launched in Vellore district on January 21, according to health minister Dr Vijay. The state-wide scheme was introduced by chief minister Jayalalithaa in Chennai on January 11. According to the minister, the 7.54 lakh beneficiaries who had already enrolled in the previous version of the scheme introduced by the erstwhile DMK regime would receive new smart cards, replacing old ones.Eligible beneficiaries (with an annual income of Rs 72,000 or less) seeking new smart cards should approach the district project officer appointed to oversee the scheme’s execution. An office has been created in the district collectorate in the ‘B’ block exclusively for this purpose. While detailing the salient features of the new scheme, the minister said it covered 1,016 treatment procedures as against the 650 listed in the previous version. As many as 113 follow-up procedures and 23 diagnostic procedures have been added to the new version of the scheme, which will operate in collaboration with public sector insurance company United India Insurance on a not-for-profit basis, as against a private insurance operator.  Hospitalisation, postoperative care for up to five days, neo-natal care and transport expenses also have been included in the scheme. A family could avail itself of medical care worth `4 lakh for four years, the minister added.The new scheme’s beneficiaries could avail themselves of medical support from 17 government medical colleges, 32 district headquarters hospitals and 330 private hospitals across the state. In Vellore, five private hospitals including  Christian Medical College Hospital will offer services, he said. For assistance, beneficiaries could call the toll-free telephone number 1800-4253993.District project officer Kishorekumar, who was present during the scheme’s launch, said that within the next two months, all existing smart cards will be replaced with new ones. The process of photographing and verifying documents to obtain new cards will begin at the collectorate during office hours from January 21.