The launching program of the Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS) was held here at State Banquet Hall, Kohima.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio stated the real test will be on how effectively the scheme is implemented and urge the State Health Agency, the department of Health & Family Welfare and other departments to ensure to respond to the beneficiaries in a smooth manner.

He said, under CMHIS, the entire population of the state will be covered and people will have an assurance of better access to healthcare services than they ever had before. This will expand the coverage of insurance benefits, over and above those being covered under Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, the Chief Minister added.

He informed the scheme will provide an assured coverage to the general citizens of up to rupees five lakh for almost every illness requiring hospitalisation. This scheme will be available through a wide network of nearly 28000 Ayushman Bharat empanelled hospitals across the country. Government servants and pensioners will have a coverage of up to rupees twenty lakh per family and also have access to nearly 1500 CGHS empanelled hospitals.

Distribution of Ayushman Bharat-CMHIS Card.

Considering the financial hardships due to hospitalization expenses faced by people, this scheme was initiated with the aim to alleviate financial hardships, Rio said and asserted hope that this scheme will prevent such hardships.

He further informed that government servants on regular employment and serving legislators and their families can avail treatment in a cashless manner and in case the cost of treatment is more than rupees twenty lakh the sum insured will be reimbursed on a case-to-case basis by the state government on recommendation by the State Medical Board.

He added that pensioners, including ex-legislators, do not have any facility for reimbursement of medical expenses as of now. However, under this scheme they will get equivalent facilities up to rupees twenty lakh cover as serving government servants.

Rio also stated the CMHIS is an opportunity for private hospitals in the state to treat patients and get assured payments. He pointed out that there is tremendous interest generated amongst private hospitals and this is the first time that they get an opportunity to get empanelled and treat patients not only from the general population but also from among government servants who usually seek treatment from outside the state.

Rio said he is aware of the consultations held with the private hospitals and package rates being revised to provide the best possible rates in the country. To this, he said, the State Health Agency (SHA) has a good track record of payment on time and a system has been put in place to ensure that SHA continue with this record.

Rio further said all the Government Hospitals in the state will also be empanelled to provide in-patient treatment under the Scheme. The revenue earned from the Insurance scheme can be used by the hospitals for improving delivery of health services in their respective facilities.

“This delegated empowerment should again help in improving the healthcare delivery in the State. Simultaneously, we are also pursuing through various financing sources including National Health Mission, World Bank and JICA to continue improving hospital facilities in the State,” he stated.

Rio appealed to all the beneficiaries to enrol themselves on the online Enrolment portal which is open now. He also appealed to all hospitals to immediately enrol on the online portal so that they are able to provide services immediately.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio releasing the Policy document of the scheme.

The Chief Minister also released the policy document of the scheme and launched the state beneficiary portal. In addition, he kicked off the beneficiary enrolment drive, distributed Ayushman-CMHIS card to three beneficiaries and Empanelment certificates to two district hospitals of Longleng and Mon and three private hospitals from Kohima and Dimapur.

Chief Secretary J Alam in his keynote address asserted that the state government’s policy decision to provide universal coverage for hospital care to all citizens of the state through the CMHIS is a major step towards fulfilling the vision of Nagaland Sustainable Development Goal Vision 2030, which envisages that by 2030, Nagaland will ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages by providing equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services to the people of the State.

Alam stated that the National Health Policy 2017 has highlighted the growing incidences of catastrophic expenditure due to health care costs, These, he said, are presently estimated to be one of the major contributors to poverty. To this end, Alam said the CMHIS has the overarching goal of reducing Catastrophic Health Expenditure by providing free and cashless hospitalisation care for most secondary and tertiary treatments.

Highlighting the various benefits of CMHIS, he said beneficiaries can avail cashless access to health care services for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India. Benefits can avail up to three days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days post-hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines. All pre-existing conditions are covered from day one and treatment can be sought at any public or private hospital in India empanelled by the state government under the scheme.

He also informed that the existing Public Health Insurance Scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB PM-JAY) Scheme, is being implemented in the state successfully since 2018 and free Cashless treatment worth 47 crores has already been given to beneficiaries since its launch till date.

The state government has had multiple consultations with various stakeholders in the state as well as outside the state, and inputs from experts across the country, to come up with a Health Benefit Package that we hope will ensure a balanced and equitable access to quality healthcare for all, the chief secretary informed.

He extended his gratitude to the National Health Authority (NHA) for their support and leveraging the NHA’s IT system for the administration of the scheme, and to The Oriental Insurance Company Limited – the insurance partner.

Furthermore, Alam said CMHIS can only be a success if all the stakeholders in the ecosystem work collaboratively and hand in hand to bring the benefit to all the citizens in the state.