With 11,506 Covid-19 positive cases, Maharashtra is the worst affected state in India. The total number of cases in India has crossed the 37,336-mark with 1,218 people succumbed to this deadly virus. Around 9,950 people have recovered until now.
To curb with the health problems Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope announced that all citizens will be covered under the state government’s health scheme and Maharashtra will be the first state to provide free and cashless insurance protection to the citizens.
Tope while addressing the media on Friday said “85% of the state’s population was covered under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) at present and the cover will be extended to the remaining 15”.
A memorandum was signed to include government, semi- government employees and white ration card holders in the scheme in a bid to prevent private hospitals from overcharging patients, he said.
“The government has signed a MoU with the General Insurance Public Sector Association (GIPSA) for treatment of Covid-19 patients at private hospitals in Pune and Mumbai,” he said.
He further informed that “various packages will be designed for all diseases, to standardise treatment fees at all hospitals”.
As per the Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Act, the state government has capped the fees of Covid-19 treatment at private hospitals, the minister said.
Hospitals that don’t have tie-ups with the GIPSA will also have to standardise their treatment fees, he added.
