In a significant move, the Maharashtra government, on Saturday, has decided to cover all 12 crore people of the state under its own healthcare insurance scheme the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY). The patients infected by the coronavirus pandemic and others now can take benefit under the scheme. They can get treatment in all the empaneled hospitals across the state. The scheme will be applicable till July 31 and, thereafter, the government will take a call for its extension.
FPJ broke the story on the state government’s proposal on May 1. However, the state Public Health Department on May 23 issued a formal notification. The knee replacement surgery in addition to government and civic hospitals can be done in the private hospitals too where the patient can take benefit under MJPJAY.
As per today’s notification, the state’s insurance scheme will not only cover the poor but also all the people with ration cards and domicile certificates in the state. At present, the scheme covers 85 per cent of the population. However, now, the remaining 15 per cent, including government and semi government employees as well as ration card holders, will also benefit. Under the much ambitious scheme, in all, 1,000 treatments at a cost of Rs 1.5 lakh per year are covered in 900 empanelled hospitals in the state. The government proposes to increase another 100 empanelled hospitals.
At present, the beneficiaries are yellow and orange ration card holders. In the 14 farmer suicide affected districts, the scheme also covers white ration card holders. While MJPJAY is based on ration cards, the PMJAY, unveiled in Maharashtra in September 2018, has beneficiaries identified on the basis of the Socio-Economic Caste Census, 2011.
During the 2019-20 fiscal, the government's outgo on the implementation of the scheme was Rs 1,700 crore, of which Rs 300 crore was the Government of India’s contribution. With today's decision, the government will spend Rs 2,000 crore in 2020-21.''
MHADA to set up 1,000 bed COVID-19 hospital in Kalwa-Mumbra
Amidst the rise in coronavirus cases in the jurisdiction of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), the state-run Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will set up a temporary 1,000 bed hospital in Kalwa-Mumbra to treat the patients. Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, on Saturday, held a meeting with TMC Commissioner Vijay Singhal and gave the necessary instructions. This is important as the progressive coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,405 with 35 deaths in the area.
