Universal Health Insurance Scheme Soon to be Launched in Goa: CM Laxmikant Parsekar

The Goa government is set to launch universal health insurance scheme in few months, the first of its kind in the country, said Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on May 6 at the state secretariat.

"We had issued a public tender twice. We have received fresh suggestions, which have been incorporated, and a reworked tender will be issued soon. We hope to get the scheme started in a few months," said Parsekar.

The universal health insurance scheme was launched by the erstwhile Congress-led coalition government in Goa in 2011, that provided a cover of Rs.60,000 for a family of five every year in return for an extremely minimal registration amount.

However, allegations of corruption leveled against the health minister Vishwajeet Rane by the opposition for under-valuing the insurance cover, selectively choosing hospitals as partners and inability of the insurers to get through to the masses to register had resulted in the scheme failing to take off.

Source: Medindia