Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, has launched HEALTH card, an insurance product that covers a family of five members, for Rs 7,500 per annum. The novel feature of the scheme is that it covers pre-existing diseases and maternity services. The benefits include out-patient consultation and investigations and in-patient treatment up to Rs 2 lakh per annum for the family.

There will be a co-payment of 10% for OP services and 5 % for IP services. Dental services, cosmetic services, out-patient drugs and disposals and out-patient procedures are not covered under the scheme. Launching the HEALTH card at Taj Krishna on Sunday evening, Hyderabad Mayor T Krishna Reddy lauded the role of Apollo Hospitals in bringing to the country the latest treatment for all diseases. He said the government’s vision was to make the state the health capital of India. In an age of competition, it was essential to introduce novel ideas like HEALTH card, which would be beneficial for thousands of families. The Mayor was the first recipient of the card from the hospital authorities at the inaugural function. The product was launched in the presence of hundreds of doctors, physicians and surgeons who were attending a seminar on emergency medical care sponsored by Apollo Hospitals.

Sangeeta Reddy, Managing Director of Hyderabad Apollo, said the two critical aspects of healthcare were its availability and its affordability. Apollo Hospitals, from its inception 20 years ago, had been striving to provide healthcare at international standards in the country. Earlier, people used to go abroad, especially the west, for treatment of heart ailments and other major diseases. Now treatment and surgeries for any disease were available in the country thanks to the initiative taken by the founder of the Apollo Group of Hospitals, Dr Pratap C Reddy. Apollo, she said, continued to strive for excellence in healthcare.

Having achieved the first requirement successfully, Apollo was committed to providing healthcare at an affordable cost. The hospital believed in need-based healthcare solutions for which health insurance was very important. At present less than two per cent of the Indian population was covered under health insurance. Therefore, it was necessary to have schemes which would cover a large section of the people. “HEALTH is the most comprehensive and innovative healthcare solution being launched in the country. It extends unlimited out-patient consultation while covering pre-existing illnesses and maternity services which other insurance products do no offer,” Sangeeta Reddy said.

The product was being launched in Hyderabad initially, and within the next couple of months it would be carried to other locations, including Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkota and Ahmedabad.