‘Arogya Suraksha’, the health insurance scheme implemented for registered pharmacists by Kerala state Pharmacy Council (KSPC) in 2014 has so far disbursed Rs.4 crore against 600 insurance claims.
KSPC’s insurance scheme is the first and only health supportive reform for registered pharmacists in India and the scheme was introduced in April 2014. The coverage benefit is disbursed by United India Insurance Company. Amount was paid for major treatments including bypass surgery, angioplasty, kidney transplants, knee & elbow transplants..etc.
According to B Rajan, president of the state pharmacy council, in the beginning of the scheme the premium for an insured amount of Rs.one lakh was Rs.2,300. During the time of claim, apart from the insured amount, the beneficiary will get an additional coverage of Rs.2 lakhs towards physical care benefit. Within the last three years, Rs 4 crore have been disbursed to more than 600 registered pharmacists and to their family members.
He said currently the number of policy holders is only 1,000 though the number of pharmacists who renew their registrations every year is 35,000. The enrolment for new policy holders will end on the 30th of this month. The Council wants to increase the premium amount from Rs.2,300 to Rs.4,400 this year. The council expects additional one thousand policy holders this year.
“Once the number of policy holders reaches to five thousand or more, we will think of reducing the amount to less than 3,000. Since the claims are terribly increasing every month we are forced to hike the premium amount. We are now aggressively making attempts to insure more pharmacists”, he said.
The insurance scheme of KSPC will also benefit the members of the pharmacist’s family. Spouse and three children are entitled for claims. Besides, non-pharmacist proprietors, owners of pharmacies and pharma journalists can also become members of the insurance scheme on account of their long experience and association with pharmacy profession.
The council proposes to cover all registered pharmacists under the insurance scheme by the year 2017-18. With this health scheme, all the registered pharmacists in Kerala will be able to avail the benefits of cashless treatment. The premium for the scheme is very low compared to any other health insurance available at present. In the scheme, all the diseases including chronic ailments will be covered. Maximum age limit for taking policy is 70 years and the scheme is life long, said the Council president.
Apart from insured amount, the benefits include ambulance charge of Rs.2,000 in case of emergency and free accessibility of IP rooms, ICU and reimbursement of claims for treatment in non-net work hospitals. Maternity benefit covered upto Rs.15,000 for normal delivery and Rs.25,000 for caesarian. Expenses incurred for 30 days before hospitalization and for 60 days after that, are also eligible to be availed through the scheme.