Karunya Health Scheme by Kerala Government

• Enjoy options to cover yourself, your spouse, kids and even your parents
• Enjoy access to 10,000+ hospitals for cashless treatment
• Reduce your taxable income by up to Rs. 50,000 deduction under section 80D**

The government of Kerala launched the Karunya Health Scheme mainly to provide health insurance coverage for the underprivileged sections of the society at a nominal premium charge. This ambitious project was originally launched by the UDF government in the year 2012. The reigning government has decided to continue with this project to provide the necessary benefits to the underprivileged sections of the society. Funding for this scheme is raised through Kerala Lottery, and the amount is directly transferred to provide settlement for the empanelled hospitals.

Eligibility for Karunya Health Scheme

The eligibility criteria listed out by the government of Kerala for enrolling in this scheme can be listed as follows:

• The beneficiary must be a resident of Kerala.
• People belonging to below poverty line and above poverty line sections of the society can apply for this coverage.
• Beneficiaries must provide their Aadhaar card and income certificate while enrolling in this coverage.

Benefits of Karunya Health Scheme

The Karunya Health Scheme by the Government of Kerala functions similar to that of a critical illness cover. People suffering from major chronic illnesses can avail treatment benefits under this cover. Some of the acute ailments covered under this policy include the following:

• Cancer
• Hemophilia
• Kidney diseases
• Heart diseases
• Palliative Care

For the above mentioned health ailments, the government offers treatment benefits up to Rs.2 lakh. For certain cases of extreme illnesses, the treatment benefits can be increased to Rs.3 lakh.

Key Features of Karunya Health Scheme

Some of the key features of Karunya Health Scheme can be listed as follows:

• The government has allocated about Rs.250 crore for this scheme in the recent financial year.
• When this policy was originally launched, treatment benefits were offered only through the government hospitals in the state. However, various private hospitals are also empanelled later to provide treatment benefits under this cover.
• Any information regarding this policy can be found in its official website: http://www.karunya.kerala.gov.in/
• The website provides extensive details about application forms, declaration, claim process, network hospitals, etc.
• The list of network hospitals in a particular district can be easily accessed by visiting the site. Just click on ‘list of hospitals’ in the menu and choose your district and region in the respective tabs. The list of hospitals will be displayed thereafter.
• The website also provides details regarding the list of beneficiaries in a particular location. Just click on ‘list of beneficiaries’ in the menu and choose your district, hospital, and applicable dates.
• For application tracking, click on ‘application tracking’ and provide the file number in the respective tab. The status of the application will be displayed following that.

Conclusion

The Karunya Health Scheme aims to provide coverage for the underprivileged section of the society against various chronic diseases. The government is utilizing its lottery money to good use by helping poor people access quality healthcare. Though there were rumours regarding the discontinuation of this scheme, the government responded saying that it has no plans to abandon Karunya Health Scheme in the near future.